A Russian court has ordered the release from house arrest of the renowned film and theatre director Kirill Serebrennikov, who is on trial on embezzlement charges.
His co-defendants Sofia Apfelbaum and Yury Itin were also freed from house arrest by the court decision on Monday.
Under the conditions of his house arrest, Serebrennikov was able to spend only limited time outside his apartment, for example when going to the gym, making work nearly impossible.
A fourth defendant, Alexei Malobrodsky, was freed from house arrest last May.