Politician Boris Nadezhdin said he has been barred from leaving Russia. According to him, the order arrived overnight through Gosuslugi, and he is now preparing an appeal with his lawyers.
“Overnight, a ruling banning me from traveling abroad arrived in Gosuslugi. We are sorting it out with lawyers. They say the decision is unlawful. We will appeal,” Nadezhdin wrote on his Telegram channel.
Earlier, the politician said he was considering leaving the country because he feared possible arrest in a case over displaying “extremist symbols.” The case was prompted by a link posted on his social media to a video containing a photograph of Alexei Navalny.
Nadezhdin was detained over the matter on July 13. He was released the same day and ordered to appear in court on July 17. At the same time, he said that if possible he would prefer to remain in Russia.
He described the prospect of leaving as “a headache on such a scale that it could hardly be overstated,” and said that if the choice came down to prison or saving his family, he would choose the latter.
Nadezhdin plans to take part in the State Duma elections scheduled for September. His candidacy was announced in June. Soon afterward, he was added to Russia’s register of “foreign agents,” a status that bars participation in elections.
In addition, the Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code charge brought against him would also ban him from running for office for one year. Meduza previously reported that, according to the outlet, pressure on Nadezhdin comes from security officials seeking to prevent him from taking part in the parliamentary campaign.