The point is that Kasparov hasn’t lived on Russian territory for over a decade
A court in the Russian Federation handed down a prison sentence in absentia against Gary Kasparov, finding the former world chess champion guilty of justifying terrorist acts through his criticism of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The decision provides for a two-month detention, to be served if Kasparov is arrested on Russian territory or extradited to Russia.
“The court issued a precautionary measure against Kasparov, ordering his arrest in absentia, for two months, from the moment of his arrest in Russia, or his extradition to Russian territory,” said the judge, in a statement cited by the Russian agency TASS.
Russian authorities accuse Kasparov of “publicly justifying terrorism in telecommunications networks, including the Internet”, a crime that, under Russian law, can result in an effective prison sentence of between five and seven years. The former multi-time world chess champion, who retired from the competition in 2005, has lived outside Russia for more than a decade and has been on the list of “foreign agents” drawn up by Moscow since May 2022.
Kasparov’s name also appears linked to a criminal case opened in October by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), which involves tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and other prominent Russian opposition figures, all in exile. The founders of the Russian Anti-War Committee (ARC), including Kasparov, are accused of “organizing a terrorist community” and “trying to seize power”.
According to the FSB, Khodorkovsky and the remaining members of the ARC “fund Ukrainian militarized groups branded as terrorist organizations in Russia and allegedly recruit other individuals, then use them in plans to seize power in Russia by force.”
The Russian Anti-War Committee was created on February 27, 2022 (three days after Moscow launched its military campaign in Ukraine) with the declared aim of combating the “aggressive dictatorship” of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been in power for more than a quarter of a century.
