Russian authorities have detained a math graduate student and self-described anti-fascist immediately as he left prison after serving a previous jail term, the independent student news site DOXA reported Monday.
Azat Miftakhov, 30, was released earlier in the day from a penal colony where he had served a four-year sentence for breaking the office window of Russia’s ruling political party.
The Moscow State University graduate student, who the human rights group Memorial declared a political prisoner, has denied the charges of “hooliganism” and accused the authorities of torture.
Miftakhov’s support group had already warned last week that he could face fresh charges.
On Monday, the group confirmed that the math graduate would be charged with “justification of terrorism” in connection to his purported “approval” of a deadly attack on a Federal Security Service (FSB) building in northern Russia’s Arkhangelsk.
Miftakhov was reportedly allowed to speak with his parents and wife for five minutes before an FSB vehicle took him to a pre-trial detention center in the city of Kirov.
A Kirov court is scheduled to rule on his pre-trial detention on Tuesday morning, according to Miftakhov’s support group. He faces up to seven years in prison for “justifying terrorism.”
Russian authorities placed Miftakhov on its list of terrorists in August.
Dozens of Russian and foreign academics, intellectuals and other figures have signed a French petition calling for Miftakhov’s release as of this summer.