Russian President Vladimir Putin today rejected claims of any attempt to "censor" or "pressure" the authorities on director Kirill Serebrennikov, accused of embezzling state money.
"There is no censorship, there is no pressure" on the director, Putin told reporters in Xiamen, where he is participating in the BRICS summit.
Putin said that the authorities would not have granted the funds to Serebrennikov if their intention was to censor him.
"The investigators are only interested in the legality of the use of state funds," the Russian president added.
Yesterday, the Moscow court made a decision to keep the famous theater and film director Kirill Serebrennikov under house arrest.
Serebrennikov, one of Russia's most important directors, was arrested last Sunday for allegedly embezzling about $1,1 million in state money intended for one of his plays and several projects he led from 2011 to 2014.
The director rejected the accusations as "absurd and impossible".
In 2016, Serebrennikov received the "Francois Challet" award in Cannes for the film "The Disciple", and his last film "Treason" was in competition at the Venice festival.
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