Russia’s theatre and film director Kirill Serebrennikov, charged with fraud, stands inside a defendants’ cage during a hearing at Moscow’s Basmanny district court on August 23, 2017.
Vasily MAXIMOV / AFP

Hundreds of Moscow residents gathered outside the Moscow’s Basmanny court on Wednesday to show their support to the famous Russian theatre director Kirill Serebrennikov had been detained and charged with embezzlement the day earlier.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said it suspected Serebrennikov of embezzling at least 68 million roubles ($1.15 million) in state funds earmarked for an art project.

Serebrennikov, an art director at Moscow’s avant-garde Gogol Centre theatre, denies wrongdoing. He faces up to 10 years in jail if found guilty.

PROTESTERS OUTSIDE COURT BUILDING CHANTING ‘KIRILL!

Serebrennikov, an award-winning director, has used his work to criticize the authorities in the past, lashing out at what he sees as the pernicious growing role of the state and church in Russian society.

His detention shocked his supporters and the arts world.

One of the protesters, Muscovite Sergei Sionovich, called Serebrennikov’s arrest “a shame for Russia”.

Another Serebrennikov supporter, Sergei Kardikhin, said the entire case was “absurd”, because he had seen the play which according to the investigation had never been staged.

Reuters