Russian lawmaker risks losing immunity for illegal elk kill

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian parliamentary commission has recommended stripping a lawmaker in the lower house of his immunity from prosecution as he faces charges over the illegal killing of an elk. Valery Rashkin, 66, first denied the charges but then confessed to killing the elk without a hunting license. Some Russian media have alleged that Rashkin, a member of the Communist Party, got in trouble due to his criticism of the Kremlin and his support for jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is a high-profile critic of President Vladimir Putin. In September, Rashkin protested the alleged fraud in online voting in Moscow’s local and parliamentary elections. The lower house votes Thursday on whether to strip Rashkin of his immunity.