Russian prosecutors on Wednesday said they were proceeding with a case against exiled science fiction writer Dmitry Glukhovsky, accused of publishing "false information" about Russian atrocities in the Ukraine war.
Russia has targeted opposition figures and journalists with a law providing for jail terms up to 15 years for those convicted of spreading "fake" news about the military.
Glukhovsky left Russia last year after the invasion and then called for a halt to the campaign.
The prosecutor general's website said an investigation determined that Glukhovsky had published "deliberately false information" accusing the Russian military of intentionally shelling and bombing homes, schools and hospitals, of mass killings and of raping underage Ukrainian school girls.
It said the case against Glukhovsky would be conducted in his absence. He is best known for a series of novels depicting life in the Moscow metro after a nuclear war.
Glukhovsky told Reuters from an undisclosed location earlier this year that his books, along with spin-off video games, were selling well. As he has been declared a "foreign agent," the books must feature a disclaimer label and minors are barred from buying them.