The former coordinator of Navalny’s Novosibirsk headquarters has been arrested in absentia

The Central District Court of Novosibirsk has arrested in absentia Sergey Boyko, the former coordinator of Navalny’s Novosibirsk headquarters. This was reported by TASS, citing the local court press service.

The pre-trial restraint was imposed on him in a criminal case for a repeated violation of the “foreign agent” law (part 2, article 330.1 of the Criminal Code). This became known in September 2024. Boyko is being prosecuted because he does not display “foreign agent” labels on Telegram.

In October 2024, the politician was added to the “terrorists and extremists register.” An asterisk appeared next to his name, meaning he is being prosecuted under terrorist-related charges. It is unclear whether this is a new criminal case or the one for which he was placed on the federal wanted list back in 2023.

The politician left Russia in autumn 2021, fearing prosecution in the “extremist community” case against Navalny’s team. In March 2023, Boyko was declared a “foreign agent.” The Ministry of Justice also later added “Coalition Novosibirsk 2020”—an independent association of opposition politicians and public figures—to its register. Besides Boyko, the ministry also named Novosibirsk politicians Helga Pirogova, Anton Kartavin and Svetlana Kaverzina as members of the coalition.