Russian activist arrested over white-red-white flag on social media

April 2, Pozirk. Law enforcers have arrested Dmitry Makhov in Russia’s Syktyvkar, capital of the Komi Republic, because of his VKontakte profile picture featuring a Belarusian white-red-white flag, SOTA reported.

This is the first arrest in Russia after Minsk and Moscow vowed in February to merge their registers of extremists and extremist content.

Makhov, co-founder of the ÖBBÖ creative association and former leader of Komi urban projects, informed the journalists about his arrest himself. He will be tried on April 3 for displaying the flag designated as an extremist symbol in Belarus.

A few weeks ago, law enforcers dealing with extremism-related crimes reportedly phoned Makhov, suggesting that he visit their office.