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A criminal case has been opened against Vladimir Khokhlov, a resident of Tyumen, over comments and posts on social media under three separate articles, a source familiar with the case told OVD-Info.
The young man is accused of calling for terrorism (Part 2, Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code), spreading military “fakes” (subparagraph “d,” Part 2, Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code), and inciting extremist activity (Part 2, Article 280 of the Criminal Code). The case was sparked by publications including a comment on a post about the death of military correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky, and poems from Khokhlov’s closed Instagram profile.
In September 2024, Khokhlov’s flat was searched, with the official witnesses being students from the FSB’s Border Institute in Kurgan (a city in the Urals). Khokhlov was detained as a suspect, but later released on condition that he did not leave town. He subsequently managed to leave Russia.
Even before the search, Khokhlov had received threats. Law enforcement officers approached his friends and followers, offering a reward of 50,000 rubles (about US$540) for information about his whereabouts.
- On 2 April 2023, an explosion took place at a café in St Petersburg during a meeting with pro-government military correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky. Tatarsky died, and 40 people were injured. Darya Trepova was soon detained in connection with the bombing. According to law enforcement, she brought a statuette containing an explosive device to the event following instructions from handlers in Ukraine. Trepova herself said she believed the statuette only contained a listening device and a GPS tracker. She was charged with carrying out a terrorist attack as part of an organised group (subparagraph “b,” Part 3, Article 205 of the Criminal Code), unlawful trafficking in explosive devices (Part 4, Article 222.1), and document forgery (Part 4, Article 327). In January 2024, Trepova was sentenced to 27 years in a penal colony.