Ilya Yashin, a prominent Russian opposition leader, announced on Monday that he has lost his citizenship, as detailed in court documents from his attorney.

Yashin, a former member of the Moscow city council and outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, was sentenced in 2022 to over eight years in prison for condemning the invasion of Ukraine. He was released last summer as part of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Western nations.

Recent court filings related to a new criminal case against Yashin indicated that the Interior Ministry has classified him as a “stateless person,” preventing him from entering Russia.

In a statement on Telegram, Yashin remarked, “This means I have been stripped of my Russian citizenship,” and referred to the action, if verified, as “a significant new precedent and a further stage of lawlessness under Putin.”

Independent Russian media reported that a judge on Monday requested clarification from prosecutors regarding the Interior Ministry’s classification at a hearing scheduled for next week.

According to Russia’s Constitution, the government is prohibited from revoking citizenship. However, since the onset of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, some lawmakers have advocated for such actions, claiming that “traitors” should lose their citizenship.

Yashin, who was an ally of the late opposition figure Alexei Navalny, has been residing in Germany since his release last year.

Report contributed by AFP.