The Russian Justice sentenced activist Oleg Orlov, leader of Memorial, a human rights organization that received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, to 2 and a half years in prison for discrediting the Army, after criticizing the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
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Oleg Orlov, a Russian activist recognized for his role in defense of Human Rights, received this Tuesday, February 27, a sentence of two years and six months in prison for “discrediting the Armed Forces” by taking a stand against the war in Ukraine and point out President Vladimir Putin as the leader of a movement that breaks away from fascism.
After the sentence was announced, Orlov, 70, was taken 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 It', in which he accuses Moscow's Armed Forces of behaving in Ukraine like “criminals and fascists.” As he was taken to prison, his supporters in the Moscow courtroom, including representatives of Western embassies, applauded him.
Orlov is recognized for his work as leader of the human rights group Memorial, which received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022. That group, created in 1989, was known for defending freedom of expression and had documented human rights abuses since the era of Stalin. However, it was declared by Moscow as a “foreign agent” and was disbanded in 2021.
The Prosecutor's Office accused Orlov of showing “political hatred towards Russia.” In his final statements during the trial, the activist denounced the “suffocation of freedom” in the country, describing it as a “dystopia.”
The judge who handed down the sentence took into account as mitigating factors, among other things, the age of the accused and his career as an activist over the last 30 years.
Memorial criticized the decision of the Russian Justice
In December 2021, Russian Justice dissolved both Memorial International and the 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 ruling against Orlov, Memorial, through a statement, expressed that the sentence is an attempt to silence the voice of the human rights movement in Russia and any criticism of the State, but assured that it will continue with its 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.” “.
Also the organization Amnesty International condemned the ruling.
“The sentence imposed today on Orlov is the result of a sham trial organized by the Russian authorities to punish a prominent critic of the state and instill fear among those who dare to raise their voices against the war in Ukraine. “Orlov's prosecution is part of the authorities' relentless campaign of repression against those who peacefully express dissenting opinions.”
“Oleg Orlov is a prisoner of conscience. He must be released immediately and unconditionally and all criminal sentences imposed on him must be quashed. “War censorship” laws are contrary to Russia's obligations under international human rights law. “The authorities must eliminate them, and all people detained for peacefully protesting against Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine must be released,” the organization added.
The cases against Orlov
Orlov was prosecuted based on laws implemented shortly after the start of the war in Ukraine, which impose prison sentences for discrediting the Armed Forces or spreading false information about them.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for unity and vigilance against what he calls “pro-Western traitors” as his forces carry out a “special military operation” in Ukraine.
On October 11, Orlov, who also demonstrated in Red Square against the war in Ukraine, was fined 150,000 rubles ($1,500) for this same case, but the Prosecutor's Office appealed the ruling by accusing Orlov of “harbouring hatred.” ideological and political” against Russia, after which the Moscow Urban Court ordered a repeat trial.
According to Reuters, his wife, Tatiana Kasatkina, said outside court: “He and I created Memorial together… But the most important thing we have created is a team. A team that will function regardless of whether Oleg is free.” or not. So we will work. We will live.”
The figures of repression in Russia
According to the EFE agency, which cites the investigative media Proekt, The magnitude of the repression since 2018 is surpassed only by Stalin, accused by Memorial of ordering the shooting of hundreds of thousands of people and sending several million more to the Gulag forced labor camps,
Proekt estimates that 116,000 have been retaliated against since 2018 – when the fourth term of President Vladimir Putin began -, of which 11,442 were for criminal reasons.
The Russian authorities would have prosecuted more people for extremism and criticism of power (5,613) than the Soviet authorities for anti-Soviet propaganda during the mandates of Nikita Khrushchev (4,883) and Leonid Brezhnev (3,234).
In addition, according to the investigation, almost 6,000 cases came to court for crimes against the State and for refusing to fight in Ukraine.
With Reuters and EFE.
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