A court in St. Petersburg began hearing a criminal case against Alexander and Lidia Nevzorov in absentia on October 27. Russian authorities allege that the couple organized fundraising that investigators classify as financing an "extremist association."
The charges are tied to the Nevzorovs themselves having been designated members of an association that Russian authorities labeled "extremist." Under this legal construction, donations collected for the couple are treated by the prosecution as support for a prohibited group.
In addition to financing extremist activity, Alexander Nevzorov is accused of failing to comply with obligations imposed on designated "foreign agents." Investigators allege that the couple posted donation links on social media to raise money for themselves and for the purposes of the association that a Russian court had previously declared to consist of the Nevzorovs themselves.
The case is being heard in absentia. In August, a court separately ordered pretrial detention for the couple in absentia; those were procedural decisions, not convictions on the present charges. Alexander Nevzorov was previously convicted in absentia in a separate case concerning alleged false information about the military.