A Moscow judge sentenced a mathematician at the Higher School of Economics (HSE) to 3.5 years in jail after he was found guilty of extremism, the exiled science outlet T-Invariant reported Tuesday.
Andrei Dymov was accused of “financing extremist activities” over donations totaling 3,500 rubles (less than $49) that he made to the late opposition activist Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK).
Moscow’s Zyuzinsky District Court found Dymov guilty and handed down its verdict on Monday, less than a month after authorities pressed criminal charges against him on April 30.
It was not immediately clear when Dymov was taken into police custody. A source familiar with the circumstances of Dymov’s prosecution told T-Invariant that he was arrested “about a month ago and purely for show,” with masked officers breaking down the door to his apartment.
The exiled outlet Mediazona reported that Dymov had signed up for a recurring donation to FBK in August 2021, two months after a Moscow court declared it an “extremist” organization.
