London: Igor Girkin, who was convicted in absentia for his role in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 a decade ago, has been sentenced to four years in a penal colony after a Moscow court found him guilty of extremism charges.
The prominent pro-war Russian blogger, also known by his pseudonym Strelkov, has accused President Vladimir Putin and senior military officers of not pursuing the Ukraine war effectively enough, and has also publicly floated ideas about running against Putin in the upcoming presidential election.
Igor Girkin, also known as Igor Strelkov, sits in a glass cage in the courtroom of the Moscow City Court.credit: AP
Girkin, a 53-year-old former colonel in Russia's spy service, was arrested last year after founding the “Club of Angry Patriots” to save Russia from what he said was the risk of systemic unrest due to Ukraine's military failures and the armed forces. They are fighting among the elite to eventually succeed Putin.
In one of his most outspoken speeches, in a July 18 post on his official Telegram channel, followed by more than 760,000 people, Girkin peppered Putin with personal insults and urged him to transfer power “to a truly capable and responsible person.”
According to SOTA, an independent Russian news outlet, Girkin defended his posts in court as emotional, non-literal expressions – without admitting any guilt.
However, these posts did not include Girkin's harsh criticism of Putin and the Kremlin. He has described Putin as “the supreme commander-in-chief who is not the supreme commander,” and referred to Russian generals as “clowns” and officials as “idiots.”
Supporters of Igor Girkin gather outside Moscow City Court.credit: AP
Girkin helped Russia annex Crimea in 2014 and, soon after, organized pro-Russian militias that wrested part of eastern Ukraine from Kiev's control — events that sparked Russia's war on Ukraine. He briefly served as Minister of Defense of the Donetsk People's Republic, a Russian client state.
As part of his sentencing on Thursday, he was also banned from accessing the Internet, a move that essentially blocks his ability to publicly criticize Putin's leadership, RIA Novosti reported. In pretrial detention, Girkin announced plans to challenge Putin in the 2024 elections, but his candidacy was not registered.
