Russian investigators launch criminal case against Ukrainian far-right leader

© RIA Novosti, Andrey Stenin

12:47 03/03/2014

MOSCOW, March 3 (RAPSI) – Russian investigators have initiated a terrorism case against the leader of ultra-nationalist, far-right Ukrainian movement “Right Sector” Dmitry Yarosh, official Spokesman for the Investigative Committee Vladimir Markin told reporters Monday.

Earlier, Yarosh publicly appealed to North Caucasus militant commander Doku Umarov for help, in a statement made through Right Sector’s page on popular Russian social network VKontakte.

“The investigators believe that in his address, head of ultra-nationalist Ukrainian group Right Sector Dmitry Yarosh is making a public call to anti-Russian forces to engage in terrorist acts and extremism on Russian territory,” Markin asserted.

According to the statement, the investigators will motion to the court to arrest Yarosh in absentia, and will place him on an international wanted list. Yarosh may be facing liability of up to 7 years in prison, if convicted.

Russian telecom regulator, Roskomnadzor, on Monday restricted access to 13 groups within Russia's largest social network Vkontakte. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, these groups promoted the Ukrainian nationalist cells, and called for terrorist activities on Russian territory.

Viktor Yanukovich, who fled the Ukrainian capital in February, had earlier called the opposition move a coup and compared it to the rise of the Nazis in Germany in the 1930s.

Last summer, Doku Umarov, an Islamic militant leader in the North Caucasus, called for terrorists to target the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

Earlier in February Russian lawmaker Roman Hudyakov filed an application seeking to ban Ukrainian opposition leaders with Yarosh, Vitaly Klichko and Arseny Yatsenyuk among them, from entering Russia. The lawmaker further argued that the Right Sector movement should be blacklisted because of its alleged extremist nature. The application addressed Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, head of Federal Migration Service Konstantin Romodanovsky and head of Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov.