A well-known Russian conspiracy theorist, who previously claimed that President Vladimir Putin was planning to step down because he had cancer and Parkinson’s disease, has been detained for questioning by Moscow law enforcement, according to his lawyer.
Local media reported on Wednesday that Solovey, a political scientist and former professor at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), had his house searched by authorities and was then taken into custody along with his son. A source told Znak that the search had been undertaken on suspicion that he had violated the Russian criminal code by “inciting hatred or enmity.”
However, RIA Novosti reported that Solovey’s sister, Tatyana, said that he and his son had been brought to speak with Russia’s Investigative Committee as witnesses to a crime.