The chairman of the Attorneys' Chamber in Russia's Udmurtia region, Dmitry Talantov, has been accused of committing five crimes and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Pervy Otdel (The First Unit), a group that unites lawyers and right defenders, wrote on Telegram on September 14 that Talantov has been charged with the distribution of fake materials inciting political hatred and discord, and two counts of inciting hatred and discord using an official position.
Talantov was arrested in the Udmurt capital, Izhevsk, and sent to pretrial detention in Moscow in late June after he criticized the Russian government and military forces over a deadly strike on a shopping mall in the Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk.
He was initially charged with distributing false information about the Russian armed forces.
Earlier in April, Talantov, who has openly condemned Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, also harshly criticized Russia's military for killing civilians in the Ukrainian towns and cities of Irpin, Bucha, and Mariupol.
Talantov was the lawyer for Ivan Safronov, a prominent former Russian journalist who was sentenced to 22 years in prison last week on a treason charge widely considered to be politically motivated.
