Russia Russian film stars offer support to director in fraud case Kirill Serebrennikov, an outspoken Kremlin critic accused of embezzlement, has house arrest extended Kirill Serebrennikov waits for the start of hearings in a court in Moscow. Kirill Serebrennikov, 48, is accused of embezzling 133m roubles (£1.7m) in government funds allocated to his Platforma theatre project. A Moscow court on Tuesday extended his house arrest, which he has been under since August, until 19 April. Western actors such as Cate Blanchett and Nina Hoss have also signed a petition in support of Serebrennikov. Serebrennikov, dressed in black and wearing a baseball cap, appeared in court on Tuesday to dispute his theatre project had embezzled state funds.

Source: The Guardian January 16, 2018 17:44 UTC