Russian police Monday charged unbiased Russian journalist Andrey Zayakin with financing extremist exercise for a small greenback donation Zayakin made to Anti-Corruption Basis (FBK), a basis began by Russian dissident and critic Alexei Navalny. Zayakin faces as much as eight years jail for donating 1,00zero rubles ($16) to FBK.

Zayakin is a reporter for Novaya Gazeta, an unbiased Russian newspaper, and co-founder of Dissernet, a neighborhood of Russian and overseas people who publicly assessment PhD theses defended at Russian universities. In 2019 and 2020, Dissernet detected and reported irregularities in a lot of Russian theses they examined.

Zayakin was arrested in Moscow on August 28 on prices of financing extremist exercise. A Russian court docket declared FBK was an extremist group, as outlined beneath Russian regulation by Article 282.1, in June 2021. Zayakin was charged beneath Article 282.3, which prohibits knowingly offering funds meant to arrange, put together or commit “no less than one of many crimes of an extremist…group.” Penalties for violating the regulation embody a 300,00zero to 700,00zero ruble high quality, one to 4 years obligatory labor, deprivation of rights to carry sure positions for as much as three years and three to eight years imprisonment.

Zayakin appeared in a Moscow court docket Monday. In accordance with Novaya Gazeta, Russian prosecutors requested the decide to put restrictions upon Zayakin’s motion and communication with others whereas they proceed to construct their case. Zayakin is now barred from leaving his home “between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and eight:00 p.m., speaking with witnesses in his case, sending and receiving correspondence, and utilizing the telephone and the Web.”