MOSCOW, August 31 (RAPSI) — A district court in Moscow has arrested former State Duma lawmaker Ilya Ponomarev in absentia in the case over discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation, the court told RAPSI.

The Koptevsky District Court granted investigators’ petition to detain Ponomarev for 2 months from the moment of his extradition to Russia, or from the moment he is apprehended in the national territory, the agency’s interlocutor said.

Ponomarev stands charged with public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, which is a crime under the Russian legislation.

Last week, the State Duma of the Russian Federation asked the Prosecutor General's Office and the Investigative Committee to initiate a criminal case against Ponomarev for his statement about the murder of journalist Daria Dugina.