Udaltsov Won’t Flee Russia, Lawyer Says

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – October 24, 2012) Opposition leader Sergei Udaltsov has no intention of violating the travel restrictions that currently bar him from leaving the country, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Defense attorney Violetta Volkova said that her client ­ a prominent organizer of anti-Kremlin protests ­ was under constant surveillance, Interfax reported.

Explaining why Udaltsov cannot be reached by journalists, Volkova said that Udaltsov doesn’t want to give any interviews and wishes to spend his last days in freedom in his own way.

Volkova also confirmed that she had received an official notification summoning her and Udaltsov to the Investigative Committee on Friday. “We have received the notification and will attend the meeting,” Volkova said.

Volkova’s comments come the same day that Kommersant said Udaltsov could flee the country before meeting with investigators.

One of Udaltsov’s friends, who was not identified, told the newspaper that investigators likely informed Udaltsov of the meeting three days early to hint that his leaving the country would be a convenient solution for both sides.

Udaltsov’s wife, who has left for Ukraine with their children, and other opposition figures including anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny and former world chess champion Garry Kasparov have been unable to reach Udaltsov, Kommersant said.

Udalstov, his assistant Konstantin Lebedev and Leonid Razvozzhayev, an adviser to State Duma Deputy Ilya Ponomaryov ­ another protest organizer ­ all face charges of plotting mass riots.

Investigators have already arrested Lebedev and Razvozzhayev, who says that he was seized by Russian special services in Ukraine and torturing into giving incriminating testimony.

The three activists face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.