Russian lawmaker accused of killing moose, alleges policy| Breaking News Updates

MOSCOW – A Russian Communist Party MP has been charged with illegal hunting for killing a moose, his lawyer told reporters on Monday.

Kremlin critic Valery Rashkin, 66, a Communist Party member of the lower house of the Russian parliament, was arrested in October after police said they found a carcass of elk in the trunk of Rashkin’s vehicle while ‘he didn’t have a hunting license.

Rashkin, who initially denied shooting the moose, admitted to killing an animal but said he was not breaking the law, as far as he knew.

Russia’s highest investigative body has asked a court to impose a curfew on Rashkin that prohibits him from leaving his home from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Rashkin will also not be allowed to communicate with others involved in the case, defense lawyer Konstantin Lazarev said. Russian state news RIA Novosti.

Rashkin was stripped of his parliamentary immunity last month amid pending charges. If found guilty, lawmakers could face a fine of up to 1 million rubles ($ 13,615) and up to five years in prison.

Rashkin also faces administrative charges for allegedly driving while intoxicated and refusing to submit to a medical examination while giving off a “pungent smell of alcohol,” according to Attorney General Igor Krasnov.

Some Russian media have alleged that Rashkin is facing charges because of his frequent criticism of the Kremlin and his support for jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the most prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In September, Rashkin was among several Communist Party members who vehemently protested alleged online voting fraud in Moscow in Russia’s parliamentary and local elections.

Speaking to lawmakers on Thursday, Rashkin alleged that the case against him was politically motivated and that he was being prosecuted for his “fight for an honest election which angered the authorities.”

Krasnov, the attorney general, denied any political motivation for the charges.

The Communist Party is nominally opposed to the Kremlin, but it votes according to its wishes on key political issues. Some observers have alleged that Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov could have quietly supported the charges against Rashkin, whom he sees as a destabilizing figure.