Russian President Vladimir Putin has removed several opposition figures from his human rights council, a decree published Monday showed, with critics saying the move robs the advisory body of its legitimacy. The 50-member body, which has spoken out against abuses, has gradually been losing influence and many respected members of the human rights community have already quit in protest at various Kremlin actions. Five people will be removed from the council including its veteran head Mikhail Fedotov, according to the presidential decree on the government website.

The other four include outspoken political analyst Ekaterina Schulmann who openly supports opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and lawyer Pavel Chikov whose organisation provides legal support to detained political protesters. They will be replaced by current and former state media employees, among them Kirill Vyshinsky, a journalist at RIA Novosti state news agency who had been jailed by Ukraine and last month flown to Russia in a high-profile prisoner swap. The council's new leader, Valery Fadeyev, is a senior member of the ruling United Russia party and worked as a presenter and news anchor on pro-Kremlin Channel One television.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019