The Moscow court detained Yuri Dud in absentia

“On September 29, 2026, the Basman District Court of Moscow chose a two-month detention as a preventive measure against Yuri Alexander Dud, starting from the date of his transfer to the Russian law enforcement authorities in case of extradition to the Russian Federation, or from the date of his detention in the Russian Federation,” the statement said.

Before this decision, the Federal Financial Monitoring Service of the Russian Federation, “Rosfinmonitoring”, included the Russian journalist in the list of extremists and terrorists, which means that a criminal case has been initiated against him. However, the case has not been officially announced yet.

Dude, who lives abroad, was sentenced in absentia in Russia last fall to a year and 10 months in prison for evading his duties as a “foreign agent.” This was the first actual prison sentence (albeit in absentia) on the charge, which carries up to two years in prison.

Yuri Dud is known for his video interviews with famous people, including politicians and public figures critical of the Kremlin. In April of this year, the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin, ordered a “legal assessment” of Dud’s actions after the journalist interviewed Denis Kapustin, the founder of the Russian Volunteer Corps fighting on the side of Ukraine.

The Russian authorities consider the “Russian Volunteer Corps” a terrorist organization, and those involved in it are sentenced to long prison terms on charges of terrorism or treason.

The results of the investigation have not been publicly announced. It is still unclear whether the criminal case is related to the interview with Kapustin.

Yuri Dud has been registered in the registry of “foreign agents” of the Ministry of Justice of Russia since 2022.