Russian Teacher Arrested On Terrorism Charge Tied To Antigraft Protests

Russian authorities have arrested a university teacher on charges of calling for “terrorist activities” with anonymous Internet posts related to recent antigovernment protests.

Russia’s main investigative agency said in an April 10 statement that the suspect, identified in the media as 25-year-old Dmitry Bogatov, posted content “calling for mass disorder in central Moscow” and publicly tried to stoke potentially deadly actions.

The Investigative Committee said Bogatov, who teaches math at a Moscow university, was formally placed under arrest earlier in the day.

The teacher told a court hearing he is innocent.

Russian authorities had previously said they had opened a criminal investigation into unidentified individuals who had called for an April 2 unsanctioned anticorruption demonstration in Moscow.

Dozens of people were detained during the protest, which came a week after more than 1,000 were detained during a rally organized by leading Kremlin critic and anticorruption activist Aleksei Navalny.

Navalny’s spokeswoman said he had nothing to do with the April 2 protest.

Russia in recent years has stepped up its policing of online content it deems extremist in nature.

It has also prosecuted government critics over Internet posts that free speech advocates say are protected by the constitution.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Russian Service, TASS, and RIA-Novosti