Kirill Serebrennikov freed from house arrest

Kirill Serebrennikov

Russian film and theatre director Kirill Serebrennikov has been finally freed from house arrest in Moscow after 20 months in detention. As per the news reported by The Hollywood Reporter, a court in the Russian capital on Monday overturned a district court decision to extend his house arrest and ordered him free without bail until a trial date is set. The court requested that he did not leave Moscow until that time.

Serebrennikov was arrested in August 2017 and charged with duping $2 million in the state funds from the Gogol Center, an avant-garde theatre he runs in Moscow. He was placed under the house arrest pending trial.

The lawyers for Serebrennikov, who was charged along with two other members of the theatre, and were also released from detention on Monday, claimed that the charges were absurd.

'The Student' film director who was unable to attend Cannes last year where his film 'Summer' played in the competition, said he would push for a full acquittal. Speaking to reporters outside the court, the director said he looked forward to the day "when this nightmare ends and we prove our innocence."

Serebrennikov's detention has become an international cause where celebrities and prominent filmmakers around the world are calling for his release. The Kremlin declined to comment on the court decision, although Russian President Vladimir Putin has in the past refused to interfere, stating that it was a matter for the courts to decide.

The first signs of Serebrennikov's difficulties came two years ago when a controversial Bolshoi theatre production based on the life of Soviet-era ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, who defected during the Cold War, was cancelled a week before the curtain was due to go up.

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates