An Irkutsk entrepreneur has been sent to a pre-trial detention centre on charges of “justifying terrorism”

The Kirovsky District Court in Irkutsk has sent entrepreneur Sergei Uglyanitsa to a pre-trial detention centre. He is accused of publicly justifying terrorism online (Part 2, Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code), Mediazona reports, citing court records. It is not known exactly what the businessman is being charged with.

Uglyanitsa is a former deputy of the Duma in Usolye-Sibirskoye, a city in Siberia, from the Communist Party (CPRF). In 2021, he ran for the State Duma as a Yabloko candidate, and after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he took an anti-war position.

In 2022, the priest of the Orthodox church in the village of Telma filed a report against him after confession, during which the entrepreneur expressed support for Ukraine. After this, two administrative cases for inciting hatred were brought against Uglyanitsa, but the court dismissed both cases due to the statute of limitations expiring.

In 2024, Uglyanitsa ran as an independent candidate in elections to the Duma of Cheremkhovsky district of Irkutsk region. He openly opposed the war and demanded a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Later, his candidacy was supported by Yabloko, and Uglyanitsa came second in his district.