Investigators reportedly acknowledge that Moscow student accused of ‘rioting’ was misidentified in protest video but refuse to drop charges

Investigators have determined that 21-year-old Moscow student Egor Zhukov was misidentified in a video taken during the city’s July 27 election protest, his attorney Ilya Novikov told the radio station Ekho Moskvy.

Law enforcement officials first charged Zhukov in a mass rioting case targeting protesters in large part because of video evidence. They claimed that a clip from the protest showed the student “directing” other marchers. Now, Novikov indicated, investigators have acknowledged that the young man in the video is actually a different individual.

Nonetheless, the attorney said that Zhukov’s prosecution will continue. The Higher School of Economics (HSE) student, who also hosts a successful video blog, has attracted public support from figures as diverse as pro-regime candidate and HSE Provost Valeria Kasamara, the rapper Oxxxymiron, and leaders of the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages.