TALLINN, Estonia — Mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin led an armed rebellion against the Russian military — and walked free. Others who merely voiced criticism against the Kremlin weren't so lucky.
On Tuesday, Russia's main domestic security agency, the FSB, said it had dropped the criminal investigation into last week's revolt, with no charges against Prigozhin or any of the other participants, even though about a dozen Russian troops were killed in clashes.
The Kremlin had promised not to prosecute Prigozhin after reaching an agreement with him that he would halt the uprising and retreat to neighboring Belarus. That came even though President Vladimir Putin vowed to punish those behind the rebellion.
Asked about this U-turn by The Associated Press during a conference call with reports on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment.
Prigozhin's escape from prosecution — at least for now — was in stark contrast to how the Kremlin has deals with anti-government protests like speaking out against the war in Ukraine or challenging Putin's rule.
When asked about it, Peskov cited Putin's “will … to prevent the events from developing according to the worst case scenario,” along with promises and guarantees given to Prigozhin.
Selective prosecution
Ivan Pavlov, a prominent lawyer who has worked on many high-profile cases involving the FSB, told AP that “laws don't work in Russia, and if…
