Russia arrests former serviceman who demanded meeting with Putin

Former Russian serviceman and blogger Alexander Lunin, who publicly demanded a face-to-face meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and threatened to stage an army mutiny, has been arrested on an administrative charge of displaying extremist symbols.

Source: Russian independent news outlet Verstka

Details: According to Verstka, the case reached court at 10:00 on Saturday 27 June, and the hearing took place at 11:30. Information about the proceedings did not appear on the court's website until two days later, on the morning of 29 June.

The court's ruling has not been published. Court officials refused to provide a copy of the decision to Verstka, saying that "cases like this are not subject to disclosure". The charge of displaying extremist symbols carries a maximum penalty of 15 days' administrative detention.

Earlier, posts on Lunin's Telegram channel claimed he had been sentenced to 11 days in detention, although no reason was given at the time.

On 25 June, Lunin published a video address to Putin demanding a live, face-to-face meeting. He accused military commanders of abusing Russian servicemen and warned that the Russian military could "turn its weapons against the Kremlin" if he were not allowed to speak alongside the Russian leader.

After the video appeared online, Lunin's wife said security forces had searched their home in Russia's Voronezh Oblast overnight and seized computer equipment. She later deleted her video and wrote that Lunin was "alive and well", but urged people not to circulate information about him.

A subsequent post on the blogger's Telegram channel confirmed that he has been detained.

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