An arrest warrant has been issued for the Russian opposition figure (Photo: Wikicommons)

A Moscow court has issued an arrest warrant for a YouTuber and opposition figure as part of the Kremlin’s recent attempts to silence critics of the invasion of Ukraine.

The Basmanny court in Moscow ordered the arrest of Maxim Katz, an anti-Putin activist and blogger who left Russia. He is accused of being a “foreign agent” who spread false information about the Russian military, a charge that could carry up to 10 years in prison.

Katz was first placed on Russia’s wanted list on September 29, but did not learn about the criminal case against him until several months later.

“It was funny how I found out,” he said. “I asked for an official statement that I had no criminal record, but it turned out that I did.”

Maxim Katz has been issued an arrest warrant after being accused of “spreading false information” about the Russian military (Photo: WikiCommons)

Days after Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine in February last year, Russian lawmakers passed a law banning disparagement of the Russian military or the spread of “false information” about what the Kremlin called “the special military operation” in Ukrainian names .

Courts across the country have increasingly handed down prison terms against critics of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.

These included a prominent opposition politician, Ilya Yashin, who was sentenced to eight years in prison for discrediting the military, and another leading opposition figure, Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was jailed on the same charges and is now on trial.

Authorities have used the label to put pressure on independent media outlets and non-governmental organizations.

On Thursday, the Justice Department added prominent human rights lawyer Pavel Chikov and popular blogger Ilya Varlamov to its list of “foreign agents.” Both criticized Russia’s use in Ukraine.

Putin’s most prominent critic, opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2021 after being convicted of embezzlement – allegations Navalny claimed were fabricated.

Earlier this year, more than 200 medics signed a petition saying they are “deeply concerned” about Mr Navalny’s life and cannot stand by and watch his condition worsen.

The opposition leader recently claimed he had been put in solitary confinement for the tenth time in a year for washing his face half an hour ahead of schedule in prison.

He also fell ill after sharing a cell with someone who was “deliberately taken to the prison’s medical ward full of flu patients,” his lawyers say.

After his conviction, it was revealed that he was transferred to a maximum security “torture prison” known for brutally beating and raping male inmates.

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