Overview
- Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow ordered Kasparov’s arrest in absentia because he is abroad and did not appear in court.
- The arrest request was filed on December 22, the measure was issued on December 23, and it is scheduled to take effect on December 26.
- Authorities cite accusations of praising terrorism, a charge that carries a potential five to seven years in prison, with case details kept under investigative secrecy.
- Kasparov was labeled a foreign agent in 2022, and in 2024 he faced a separate in‑absentia arrest order and was placed on Russia’s terrorists and extremists list by Rosfinmonitoring.
- The former world chess champion has lived outside Russia since 2013, co-founded the Russia Free Forum in 2016, and in late November criticized a U.S. Ukraine peace draft at the Halifax Security Forum.