A Russian court orders the arrest of a bestselling writer over his support for Ukraine

MOSCOW (AP) — A Moscow court has ordered the arrest of bestselling detective novelist and dissident Grigory Chkhartishvili, known under the pen name Boris Akunin, on charges of “justifying terrorism.” The order Tuesday comes two months after he was pranked by two pro-Kremlin activists into expressing support for Ukraine on a phone call. In December, Russian state media reported that a criminal case had been opened against Akunin under a wartime law that criminalizes “discrediting” the Russian army and is regularly used against Kremlin critics. Also on Tuesday, allies of jailed Kremlin foe Alexei Navalny reported that he had been placed in a tiny punishment cell in the remote Arctic penal colony where he is serving out a 19-year sentence.