Rector of top Moscow university put under house arrest

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian court has ruled to transfer a university rector from jail to house arrest as he faces embezzlement charges. Some observers have seen his case as part of authorities’ efforts to target the country’s liberal elite. Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences Rector Sergei Zuyev has been behind bars since November. His lawyers had long pushed for his release, citing Zuyev’s poor health. He initially denied the embezzlement allegations. An investigator vouched for the move to house arrest, saying during a Wednesday hearing at Moscow’s Tverskoy District Court that Zuyev had cooperated and paid for the damage he was accused of causing.