Ilya Remeslo has been detained in a case involving alleged “fake news” about the Russian army, according to TASS, which cited law enforcement sources. The agency did not specify what exactly prompted the criminal case.
Remeslo is known as a pro-Kremlin blogger who built his public profile through campaigns against Alexei Navalny. He had claimed that it was his complaint that led to the criminal fraud case against the politician over donations.
In March, Remeslo publicly criticized Vladimir Putin. He accused the president of starting the war, damaging Russia’s economy, imposing censorship on the internet and in the media, and also of usurping power and suppressing the opposition.
A few days after those statements were published, it became known that Remeslo had been placed in a psychiatric hospital. Some pro-government bloggers suggested at the time that he may have been trying to avoid criminal prosecution for criticizing the president.
After spending 30 days in the hospital, Remeslo was released and gave an extensive interview to Ksenia Sobchak. In it, he spoke about his hospitalization, his change in political views, his earnings while working for the Kremlin, his campaign against Navalny, and his attitude toward the politician’s death.