Russian judge resigns over topless selfie 'hacked from her mobile phone' after she released two teenagers charged with trying to overthrow the government

  • Irina Devayeva has stood down after her mobile phone was seemingly hacked
  • The official line is that she left the court 'at her own request' after the photo leak
  • But there are fears the Kremlin could have targeted her over a 2018 case in which she released two teenagers accused of 'extremism' from custody 

A Russian judge has been forced to resign over a topless picture of her, months after showing leniency towards two anti-Putin teenagers in a court case.  

Irina Devayeva has stood down after her mobile phone was seemingly hacked and the naked image stolen from it. 

The official line is that she left the court 'at her own request' but there are concerns she may have been targeted by the Kremlin over the earlier case. 

By releasing the two teenagers from custody last year - after they were accused of plotting to overthrow Vladimir Putin's government - she may have been seen as rebelling against the Kremlin's line, it is feared. 

Russian judge Irina Devayeva (pictured) has been forced to resign over a topless picture of her, months after a controversy about her leniency towards two teenagers

Russian judge Irina Devayeva (pictured) has been forced to resign over a topless picture of her, months after a controversy about her leniency towards two teenagers 

According to Znak, the topless photo was taken well before Devayeva beame a judge in Moscow's Dorogomilovsky court.  

She had never shared it from her phone or published it on social media, it is reported. 

The earlier controversy surrounded 18-year-old Anna Pavlikova and 19-year-old Maria Dubovik, who were released from custody last year. 

The pair faced charges of creating an extremist group aiming to overthrow Vladimir Putin's government.

Irina Devayeva (pictured) has reportedly stood down after her mobile phone was seemingly hacked and the naked image stolen from it

Irina Devayeva (pictured) has reportedly stood down after her mobile phone was seemingly hacked and the naked image stolen from it

They and eight other suspects had been arrested in March 2018. 

Defence lawyers asserted that undercover police agents had written the group's radical programme and encouraged its members to have shooting practice.

They spent five months in a preliminary detention where their health declined, according to their lawyer and relatives. 

But in August last year they were moved from custody to house arrest after a ruling by Devayeva.   

Anna Pavlikova is seen in August 2018
Maria Dubovik in a court in Moscow in 2018

The judge was at the centre of a row over 18-year-old Anna Pavlikova (left) and 19-year-old Maria Dubovik (right), who were released from custody last year 

Hundreds of women had carried soft toys across Moscow during an unauthorszed 'Mothers' March' in a bid to have them freed. 

Russia has frequently used its vaguely worded extremism laws to go after dissenters, opposition activists and religious minorities. 

In one example, Russia officially banned the Jehovah's Witnesses in 2017 and declared them an extremist organisation.

Amnesty International said the extremism laws had been 'further extended and used arbitrarily against protected speech' in its latest report on Russia.  

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