Russian judge condemns activist Oleg Orlov for criticizing invasion of Ukraine

first Amendment: 02/27/2024 – 21:52

4 minutes

Oleg Orlov, a Russian activist known for his role in the defense of human rights, received a prison sentence of two years and six months this Tuesday, February 27, for “defaming the armed forces” by taking a stance against the war in Ukraine. Point to President Vladimir Putin as the leader of the movement to break away from fascism.

After the sentence was announced, Orlov, 70, was led away in handcuffs.

The activist expressed that the verdict “demonstrates” the veracity of his article., in reference to his text titled ‘They wanted fascism’. They Got This’, in which he accused the Moscow Armed Forces of behaving like “criminals and fascists” in Ukraine. As he was taken to jail, his supporters in the courtroom in Moscow, including representatives of Western embassies, applauded him.

Orlov is recognized for his work as a leader of the human rights group Memorial, which received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. The group, created in 1989, was known for defending freedom of expression and documenting human rights abuses from the Stalin era. However, it was declared a “foreign agent” by Moscow and was disbanded in 2021.

The prosecutor’s office accused Orlov of showing “political hatred towards Russia”. In her final statements during the trial, the activist condemned the “suffocation of freedom” in the country, describing it as a “dystopia”.

The sentencing judge took into account, among other things, the age of the accused and his career as an activist over the past 30 years as mitigating factors.

Memorial criticizes Russian judge’s decision

In December 2021, Russian justice dissolved both Memorial International and Memorial Human Rights Center for creating a “false image of the Soviet Union as a terrorist state”. However, some of its leaders went into exile and the group continues to operate outside Russia.

This Tuesday, after learning of the verdict against Orlov, Memorial expressed through a statement that this sentence is an attempt to silence the voice of the human rights movement in Russia and any criticism of the state, but assured that He will continue his work. Work.

The group claimed that Orlov is a true Russian patriot and criticized how national values ​​are used in Russia today, where war is presented as peace, calls for peace are criminalized and Warnings about state violence are labeled “hate crimes”.

The organization Amnesty International also condemned the decision.

“The sentence imposed on Orlov today is the result of a sham trial organized by Russian authorities to punish a prominent critic of the state and instill fear among those who dare to speak out against the war in Ukraine. “Orlov’s prosecution is part of the authorities’ continuing campaign of repression against those who peacefully express dissenting opinions.”

,Oleg Orlov is a prisoner of conscience. He should be immediately and unconditionally released and all criminal convictions imposed on him should be cancelled. The “war censorship” laws are contrary to Russia’s obligations under international human rights law. “The authorities must eliminate them, and all those detained for peacefully protesting against Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine must be released,” the organization said.

Cases against Orlov

Orlov was prosecuted based on laws enacted shortly after the war began in Ukraine, which makes it punishable by prison for defaming the armed forces or spreading false information about them.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for unity and vigilance against those he calls “pro-West traitors” as his forces launch a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

On October 11, Orlov, who had also demonstrated in Red Square against the war in Ukraine, was fined 150,000 rubles ($1,500) for the same case, but the prosecutor’s office charged Orlov with “inciting hatred”. Appealed against the decision alleging. “ideological and political” against Russia, after which the Moscow Urban Court ordered a retrial.

According to Reuters, his wife, Tatiana Kasatkina, said outside the court: “He and I created the memorial together… But the most important thing we created is a team. A team that will work regardless of what Whether Oleg is free or not.” No. So we will work. We will survive.”

Statistics of repression in Russia

According to the EFE agency, which cites the investigative media Proyekt, the magnitude of the repression since 2018 has been surpassed only by Stalin, the memorial accused of ordering the execution of hundreds of thousands of people and the deportation of several million to camps. have put. Gulag forced labour,

The project estimates that since 2018 – when President Vladimir Putin began his fourth term – 116,000 have been retaliated against, of which 11,442 were for criminal reasons.

Russian authorities may have prosecuted more people for extremism and criticism of the regime (5,613) than Soviet authorities prosecuted for anti-Soviet propaganda during the tenures of Nikita Khrushchev (4,883) and Leonid Brezhnev (3,234).

In addition, according to the investigation, about 6,000 cases of crimes against the state and refusal to fight in Ukraine came to court.

With Reuters and EFE.