A Moscow court Convicted Veteran human rights activist Oleg Orlov 2.5 Years in prison Tuesday to Speaking out against the war in Ukraine and “discrediting” the Russian army.
Orlov, co-chair of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate's Human Rights Memorial Group, is one of the few prominent anti-war figures to remain in Russia since the invasion. His sentence comes after the prosecution requested a retrial of his previous sentence required He will be imprisoned.
Before his sentencing on Tuesday, Orlov told the Moscow Times that he viewed prosecutors' request for his imprisonment as a “demand from the top,” but said he still had hopes for change in Russia.
“I believe in a better future [for the country]. There is a real future ahead of us, and there is only the past behind us [the regime]Orlov said in an interview, referring to the Russian authorities.
Orlov, 70, was fined 150,000 rubles ($1,500) in October after a Russian court convicted him of “defaming” the Russian armed forces.
The charges under Russia's wartime censorship laws carry a penalty of up to five years in prison. At that time, prosecutors Issued The fine was due to mitigating circumstances including Orlov's age and the testimonies of his supporters.
Russian authorities accuse Orlov of “discrediting” the armed forces based on an article he wrote in November 2022 titled: “They wanted fascism. They got it.”
In his article, Orlov stated that the war against Ukraine constitutes a “severe blow to the future of Russia” and that the Kremlin seeks to use the invasion as a tool to achieve its political goals.
The Public Prosecution this time Claim That Orlov had a “motive of hostility and hatred towards military personnel” is what they consider to be aggravating circumstances.
“I do not admit guilt, and the accusation is not clear to me,” Orlov said He said During a hearing this month.
In his interview on Monday, Orlov told The Moscow Times that he “understands the threats” he faces because of his opposition to war in modern Russia.
“This year-long trial is not easy for me and I don’t know if I would have published the article if I had known the consequences. But it seems to me that I will do it.”
Despite intense pressure on independent voices and the mass exodus of activists, politicians and journalists since the beginning of the war, Orlov chose to remain in Russia.
“I didn’t want to escape prosecution,” he told The Moscow Times.
He added: “In addition, the trial was an opportunity to convey my thoughts and beliefs to the public – at a time when there is no opportunity to speak freely in Russia, I used the court as a platform.”
In his final speech to the court on Monday, Orlov once again denied his guilt.
“I did not commit a crime,” Orlov told the judges.
“I am being tried because of a newspaper article in which I described the existing political regime in Russia as totalitarian and fascist. The article was written more than a year ago. Then some of my friends thought I was exaggerating things too much.
“But it is now clear that I was not exaggerating at all. The state in our country not only once again controls social, political and economic life, but also claims complete control over culture and scientific thought and invades private life.
“It becomes inclusive. We see that.”
Orlov, who was recently added to Russia's list of “foreign agents,” has been a vocal critic of the invasion since its beginning.
He was arrested in 2022 because of one man Sit-in In Red Square – where he raised a banner that read: “Our unwillingness to know the truth and our silence makes us accomplices in this crime” – and then in another. He objects Against war.
The United Nations and Amnesty International urged Russia to drop the charges against Orlov, describing them as politically motivated.
“This case is an example of the intensified repression of human rights defenders in Russia, where the judiciary has abandoned its independence under political pressure,” said Mariana Katzarova, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Russia. He said this week.
“Orlov’s trial is not just an attack on an individual, but rather a coordinated attempt to silence the voices of human rights defenders in Russia and any criticism of the war on Ukraine.”
He has been a human rights defender since 1988 and is a member of the prominent and respected human rights group Memorial, which has been involved in Receive 2022 Nobel Peace Prize alongside the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties and imprisoned Belarusian human rights activist Ales Bialiatsky.
Orlov He was Part of a group that traded itself for civilian hostages taken by Chechen fighters in 1995 and were eventually released.
In 2004, Orlov became a member of the Russian Presidential Council on Human Rights.
Orlov resume The first court ruling last year Connection It is “illegal” and “unfair”.
At Monday's court hearing, Orlov also urged Russians not to lose hope in their country.
He said: “I will add on my own behalf: Do not give up and do not lose optimism.”
“In the end, the truth is on our side.”
