The Russian Investigative Committee detained film critic Ekaterina Barabash in Moscow, her son reported on Facebook on Feb. 25.
She is the mother-in-law of Ukrainian screenwriter Lyuba Yakimchuk. Barabash is also the daughter of late Ukrainian-born literary scholar and Shevchenko Prize laureate Yuriy Barabash.
The reasons for her detention remain unclear, but it is presumed to be linked to her professional activities, including her work for Republic, a Russian publication that was added to the foreign agent media register and banned in March 2022.
Barabash had also publicly supported Ukraine on her social media accounts and condemned Russia's full-scale invasion.
Republic Editor-in-Chief Dmitry Kolezev, who recently left Russia, confirmed this on his Telegram channel. Russian state-owned outlet RIA Novosti also confirmed her detention.
Barabash’s legal status and the nature of the case remain unspecified.
Her son, Yuri, has been living and working in Ukraine for many years.
Previously, Barabash was fired from Interfax in 2016 for criticizing Russian authorities.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's crackdown on dissent since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine has seen thousands of his citizens arrested and many jailed.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
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