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- Chess icon Garry Kasparov may face terrorism charges in Russia.
- Kasparov has been a vocal critic of the Kremlin and lives in exile since 2013.
- He organized the Free Russian Forum and founded the Anti-War Committee.
- Russia’s crackdown on dissent intensifies amid the ongoing Ukraine conflict.
Chess Legend Kasparov Under Threat of Terrorism Charges
Garry Kasparov, a chess grandmaster and prominent Kremlin critic, could be prosecuted on terrorism charges, according to Russian state media TASS.
Renowned for dominating the chess world in the late 20th century, Kasparov has since become an influential political opponent of the Russian government. His involvement with the Free Russian Forum, an event supporting political dissent held in Lithuania, led to his “arrest in absentia” in April. Living in self-imposed exile since 2013, Kasparov’s latest legal troubles stem from his leadership of the Anti-War Committee, which he established in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The committee has been fiercely critical of President Putin, calling him a “mad dictator” and condemning the military aggression.
After being designated a foreign agent in 2022 due to his association with the Anti-War Committee, Kasparov now faces the possibility of escalated charges under Russia’s stringent foreign agent laws. These laws require individuals with international ties to undergo rigorous disclosures and label themselves as foreign agents. This development is part of a broader pattern of repression by the Russian state, which has been intensifying its efforts to quell internal dissent as the Ukraine war claims the lives of tens of thousands of Russian soldiers.
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