A Moscow court has held a preliminary hearing in absentia in the criminal case against comedian Semyon Slepakov, who is accused of evading the duties of a foreign agent, reports infohub.kz.
According to RIA Novosti, the case is being heard by a magistrate of the Lomonosovsky District of Moscow. Slepakov did not appear in court but sent his lawyer, through whom he asked the court to dismiss the case against him.
The lawyer stated: "In his application to the court, he indicated that he has not lived in Russia for more than three years and could not have received any notifications. Moreover, he is not entirely clear what he is accused of, what publications are being imputed to him. He considers it impossible to defend himself against an unformulated accusation. He believes his prosecution is unlawful and the case should be dismissed."
According to the investigation, Slepakov was twice within a year brought to administrative responsibility for violating the established procedure for the activities of a person performing the functions of a foreign agent (Part 4 of Article 19.34 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation). At the same time, while abroad, he continued to publish materials on social media without the foreign agent label. The comedian faces up to two years in prison.
It is noted that Slepakov was recognized as a foreign agent in Russia in April 2023.
Recall that on April 9, it became known that a criminal case was opened against Semyon Slepakov for violating the order of activity of a foreign agent. Recently, the Investigative Committee of Russia announced the completion of the investigation against the comedian. The artist has been put on the wanted list.