Russian hockey player Ivan Fedotov, who had signed a contract with the Philadelphia Flyers,
was arrested and detained last Friday for allegedly evading military service. He was arrested at a St. Petersburg hockey rink and taken to the army enlistment office.
According to Russia’s law, young men between the ages of 18 and 27 must serve at least one year in the military. If they were caught evading military service, they could be punished with
fines and even jail time for up to two years. Alexei Ponomaryev, lawyer for Fedotov, denied he
evaded conscription.
After he was arrested, Fedotov fell ill and was sent to the military hospital. There, he suffered
gastritis from stress and complained about the insufficient care in the hospital. His lawyer said that no one was even allowed to see him. “Since then, we have not heard anything. As far as I
understand, they want to transfer him in a serious condition to some kind of military investigative body,” Ponomaryev said.
Fedotov, 25, was born in Finland and raised in Russia. He was a goalie and had helped
Russia win a silver in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Fedotov was widely recognized as the best goalie in the K.H.L. Championships, too.
“Ivan is a player we have followed closely and are very pleased with his development,” said
Chuck Fletcher, Philadelphia’s president of hockey operations and general manager. He also said in a statement regarding the arrest that the Flyers were aware of the situation, but that they had “no further comment at this time.”
Links:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/01/sports/hockey/flyers-russia-fedotov-ukraine.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ivan-fedotov-philadelphia-flyers-detained-russia-accused-evadingmilitary-service-report/
was arrested and detained last Friday for allegedly evading military service. He was arrested at a St. Petersburg hockey rink and taken to the army enlistment office.
According to Russia’s law, young men between the ages of 18 and 27 must serve at least one year in the military. If they were caught evading military service, they could be punished with
fines and even jail time for up to two years. Alexei Ponomaryev, lawyer for Fedotov, denied he
evaded conscription.
After he was arrested, Fedotov fell ill and was sent to the military hospital. There, he suffered
gastritis from stress and complained about the insufficient care in the hospital. His lawyer said that no one was even allowed to see him. “Since then, we have not heard anything. As far as I
understand, they want to transfer him in a serious condition to some kind of military investigative body,” Ponomaryev said.
Fedotov, 25, was born in Finland and raised in Russia. He was a goalie and had helped
Russia win a silver in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. Fedotov was widely recognized as the best goalie in the K.H.L. Championships, too.
“Ivan is a player we have followed closely and are very pleased with his development,” said
Chuck Fletcher, Philadelphia’s president of hockey operations and general manager. He also said in a statement regarding the arrest that the Flyers were aware of the situation, but that they had “no further comment at this time.”
Links:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/01/sports/hockey/flyers-russia-fedotov-ukraine.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ivan-fedotov-philadelphia-flyers-detained-russia-accused-evadingmilitary-service-report/
