Mikhail Zhitkov

On 25 May 2023, law enforcers burst into the flat where Zhidkov was staying with another persecuted person, Yegor Savchenko. At least one of them was dragged by the hair. Alexander Talipov, the administrator of the "Crimean SMERSH" Telegram channel, who regularly writes denunciations against opponents of the war, said in his personal channel that Savchenko and Zhidkov were then arrested for 15 days. In June, they were sent under house arrest, although the investigation demanded that they be taken into custody. "Crimean SMERSH" also published a video of them apologising. Supposedly, on 9 August 2023, both were sentenced to a year of restricted freedom. However, on 5 October, the appellate court cancelled the sentence, because the magistrates' court, which considered the case, prepared only the introductory and operative parts of the verdict in the deliberation room, and attached the full version of the verdict to the case later, which is a violation of the law.