(Moscow) Opponent Alexeï Gorinov, who in 2022 was the first convicted in Russia for denouncing the assault on Ukraine, receiving seven years in prison at the time, was sentenced on Friday to three additional years for “ apology for terrorism.
Posted at 6:34 a.m.
This Moscow municipal councilor was the first person sentenced to prison for “dissemination of false information” concerning the Russian army, under an article of the penal code which came into force a few weeks after the attack on the Ukraine from February 2022 and since then used by the authorities to silence any criticism of the conflict.
“I am for peace, but you like war,” this 63-year-old man told the judge after the verdict was announced, according to the independent media Mediazona, which specializes in covering repression in Russia.
His lawyer, however, explained that, given the Russian sentencing system, Mr. Gorinov might not serve the entirety of the two cumulative sentences, according to the same source.
In this new case, Mr. Gorinov was on trial for having held conversations with fellow inmates in a prison hospital where he was being treated for pneumonia in January 2023.
According to the prosecution, he justified the Ukrainian strikes on the Crimean Bridge, an important infrastructure that connects Russia to this annexed peninsula, and the actions of two Ukrainian military units declared “terrorist organizations” in Russia, the Azov Brigade and the Kraken regiment.
Before the verdict, Alexei Gorinov had once again called to “stop the bloody and unnecessary massacre” in Ukraine, according to a speech broadcast by the independent media SOTAVision.
“Isn’t it time to leave our neighbors alone and solve our own problems? “, he declared, adding: “my guilt lies in the fact that, as a citizen of my country, I allowed this war and failed to stop it.”
The opponent wore a peace sign drawn on a piece of paper and attached to his prison uniform.
During the first hearing of this new trial, Mr. Gorinov held up a sign with the words “Stop killing!” Let’s stop the war! “. He also denounced the “persecution of citizens who express their opinions” in Russia.
In July 2022, Alexeï Gorinov was sentenced to seven years in prison after denouncing “the ongoing military aggression in Ukraine” during a municipal council on March 15, broadcast on YouTube.
The crackdown in Russia has thrown hundreds, if not thousands, of people into prison over their opposition to Russia’s assault on Ukraine. People regularly receive very heavy sentences for “treason”, “sabotage” or “extremism”.
Russian agencies reported on Friday, citing the security services (FSB), the convictions of four people to sentences ranging from 6 to 17 years in prison for attempting to burn down a Russian army recruitment office.
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