Serenko's arrest has been extended by a month.
A court in Volgograd extended the pretrial detention of political scientist Mikhail Serenko. During the hearing, information about 12 criminal cases against him was announced.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," political scientist and former Volgograd City Duma deputy Mikhail Serenko was detained on July 22 on charges of publicly justifying Nazism and extortion. On July 24, the court remanded him in custody until September 18. Serenko has never been an oppositionist and has not criticized the government, the Volgograd journalist noted. After his arrest, a Volgograd Regional Duma deputy filed a complaint against Serenko, accusing him of slander. The military deemed one of the posts on a Telegram channel, which investigators claim is authored by Serenko, to be defamatory of the armed forces. Investigators opened a case against Serenko for distributing pornography. On August 12, it was announced that Serenko had been charged with slander.
Investigators believe that the administrator and author of the "Island of Freedom" channel published materials containing incriminating information about a Volgograd resident and demanded money from him "to stop distributing defamatory publications." The detainee is charged with publicly justifying Nazism in connection with posts from March 2025. A psychological and linguistic examination concluded that the texts contain "a combination of signs of rehabilitation of Nazism, including the denial of facts established by the verdict of the International Military Tribunal."
The Volgograd Central District Court considered extending the pretrial detention of Mikhail Serenko, administrator of the "Freedom Island" Telegram channel. He will have to spend at least another month in pretrial detention, according to Vysota 102.
The hearing of the investigator's motion to extend his pretrial detention began at 2:00 PM. Mikhail Serenko was brought to the hearing under escort. The investigation was represented by Vladimir Surov, Head of the Investigative Department for the Central District of Volgograd, Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the Volgograd Region.
"As announced during the court hearing, 12 criminal cases have already been opened against the admin of 'Freedom Island.' He is suspected of large-scale extortion, rehabilitation of Nazism, distribution of pornographic materials, dissemination of false defamatory information, as well as libel associated with an accusation of a crime against sexual integrity, and simple libel," the agency reports.
Considering the nature of the crimes with which Mikhail Serenko is accused, Judge Veronika Kushch of the Volgograd Central District Court decided to extend Serenko's pretrial detention for another month – until October 18, 2025.
Mikhail Serenko's lawyer, Khristina Serebryakova, commenting on the latest charges against her client, asserted that Mikhail Serenko is feeling generally well and is in satisfactory health. He is positive and hopes that the investigation will reach the right conclusions. He tries to exercise daily and eat right to have the strength to fight this lawlessness, V1 reported.
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