The arrest of Volgograd blogger Alexei Ulyanov has been extended.
The Volgograd Central District Court remanded blogger Alexei Ulyanov, accused of large-scale extortion, in custody until June 24.
As reported by Kavkazsky Uzel, on May 26, the case of Volgograd blogger Alexei Ulyanov, accused of extortion, was referred to the court.
According to investigators, beginning in 2020, Alexei Ulyanov demanded monetary compensation from organization leaders and individuals in exchange for not disseminating defamatory information. The amounts he intended to receive ranged from 100,000 to 6 million rubles. In one incident, the blogger, along with the owner of an anonymous internet channel, who is currently a defendant in another criminal case, acted in collusion to demand and subsequently receive 6 million rubles from a businessman, threatening to continue publishing defamatory material. In another case, he extorted 100,000 rubles from the head of another company to refrain from publishing defamatory information, but the demand was refused.
Blogger Alexei Ulyanov, accused of large-scale extortion, has been remanded in custody for another month. According to the defendant's wife, the Central District Prosecutor filed a motion to extend the pretrial detention. The hearing was held behind closed doors, according to Volgograd Online.
"The Central District Court, represented by Judge Korotenko, extended Alexei Ulyanov's pretrial detention until June 24 at the request of Central District Prosecutor Pashkevich. The court finds there are no grounds for revoking or changing Ulyanov's pretrial detention," the publication quotes the blogger's wife, Elena, as saying.
According to her, the fact that her husband has not received the necessary medical care for six months is not grounds, the significant deterioration in his health is not grounds, and the lack of any evidence in the case is not grounds. "As I understand it, the prosecutor's words were the only basis the court relied on," she said.
"The prosecutor behaved extremely provocatively in court, asserting that Ulyanov was guilty and that she believed his guilt had been proven. Why then did they need a month to familiarize themselves with the case if she already knew everything?" Elena stated.
As a reminder, Ulyanov is accused of extortion, including extortion committed by a group of individuals on an especially large scale. Ulyanov's property, worth over two million rubles, has been seized.
The "Caucasian Knot" also reported that the Volgograd Central District Court extended the arrest of journalist Vitaly Koshelev until June 23. He is suspected of large-scale extortion from the head physician of a clinic in the Dzerzhinsky District.