Moscow, Russia – All the efforts of the security forces, which on May 18 carried out a search of the apartment of the former candidate for the State Duma, associate professor at Moscow State University Mikhail Lobanov, were aimed at finding material. Lobanov himself expressed this opinion in a conversation with Russian media.
Investigative actions at the politician’s home and his subsequent interrogation were carried out in the case of “forgery” about the Russian army, which is under investigation against the former State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev.
According to Lobanov, this time they searched for technical devices more carefully than during the search in December 2022. As a result, laptops, tablets and phones were confiscated from his apartment.
“My wife Sasha Zapolskaya and I are teachers, we give a lot (lectures). <…> Now, in connection with the measles outbreak in Moscow and in universities and schools, some of the lessons are inevitably being moved online, and now we’re going to lose all that equipment… We’re going to fix that, “he said.
The politician said that this time the same officers came to him, who carried out a search of his home in December 2022 on the same case: “These are the same two people who carried out the search as in December. Old acquaintances.”
Lobanov is convinced that the police wanted to send the message that he does not need to get involved in politics. “It happened last time, it happened this time too. And some strange games: they asked me to open passwords on phones, on laptops. If you refused, some of these dirty little tricks have started: then we will confiscate your Moscow State University pass, return it or confiscate your bank card,” he said.
The lawyer was not allowed to enter the apartment during the search, but he attended the interrogation which, according to Lobanov, was a mere formality. He was asked several questions, including whether he knew Ponomarev and his plans.
“It was clear that neither the agents, nor the investigator, in general, anyone was seriously considering the version that I was really connected in some way to this case. Everyone fully understands that it’s just a pretext, it’s just a pretext to break into an apartment and make a noise all over the country, or at least in the working part of society, that, look, he there is another wave of raids, a new wave of persecution, be afraid, don’t raise your head, don’t interact, don’t try to change anything, ”says the associate professor of the State University of Moscow.
Lobanov noted that he was aware of Ponomarev’s existence, and also that “he once served as a deputy from one of the factions of the State Duma,” but never interacted with him: “ I am not interested in his current activities and do not participate in them. I don’t have any information about it.” Moreover, he claims to have nothing to do with the “Congress of People’s Deputies”.
The “Congress of People’s Deputies” was established in Poland in 2022. Its founders are former State Duma deputies Ilya Ponomarev, Gennady Gudkov and former lawyer Mark Feigin.
Although this is the second search in the past six months, Lobanov has no plans to leave Russia yet.
“That is to say, it does not mean… Neither then nor now have I sworn, either by blood or by anything else, that under any circumstances I leave (the country) and go straight to Putin’s prison. I have no such desire. But as long as like-minded people and I see opportunities to continue our activities, we see the sense from this we see the return, we will continue this and try to do this inside Russia,” he concluded.
The case of the “fakes” on the Russian army against Ponomarev
On August 30, 2022, the Koptevsky District Court in Moscow arrested Ponomarev in absentia in a criminal case of “forgery” about the Russian military (part 2 of article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Details of the case are unknown. In October, Ponomarev was put on the wanted list.
Ilya Ponomarev was the only State Duma deputy who, in March 2014, voted against the annexation of Crimea to Russia. A few months later, he left Russia. In October 2015, he was charged with embezzlement and arrested in absentia. Since 2016 he lives in Ukraine. In January 2023, Rosfinmonitoring listed Ponomarev on the list of extremists and terrorists.
In September the homes of journalists in Ekaterinburg, Tyumen, Rostov-on-Don, the Orel region, Moscow and Odintsovo near Moscow were searched. The media claimed they were linked to the case of the ex-MP. Ponomarev’s telegram channel “February Morning” denied that the journalists whose homes were raided had anything to do with his work.
Security forces also came for Mikhail Lobanov and two former city deputies from Moscow on December 29. RIA Novosticiting a source, wrote that a total of searches took place in seven regions in the “fake news” case against Ponomarev.
On the morning of May 18, Izvestiya reported raids on the homes of opponents in five Russian regions. According to the publication, in addition to Lobanov’s apartment, investigative measures took place at the places of residence of Yabloko party members Galina Filchenko and Nodari Khananashvili. A source of RT reported that the security forces also came to see the editor-in-chief of the publication Ladoga.ru, Alexander Kalinin. The channel’s interlocutor claimed that they were all supposed to be associates of Ponomarev and that they took part in the meetings of the “Congress of People’s Deputies”.
Lobanov wrote in his telegram channel at half past six in the morning that a door was broken in his apartment. Later, a message appeared on the channel stating that the ex-candidate of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation had nothing to do with Ponomarev. After the search, the associate professor of Moscow State University was taken away for questioning by the Investigative Committee. Around 5:00 p.m., the department released him as a witness. The same status in the UK was granted to ex-Mundep Nodari Khananashvili, wrote Sota. During the interrogation, he, like Lobanov, was questioned about the activities of Ponomarev. He says he doesn’t know him.
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