The Russian Education Committee today opened a criminal case against Colombian national Alberto Enrique Giraldo Saray, who is accused of spreading “false news” about Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, a charge that could cost him up to 10 years in prison.
“He has been charged with the crime provided for in Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code (spreading false information about the actions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation),” the body reported on its website.
According to the Education Committee, “It was established that between March 8 and March 18, 2022, Giraldo Saray was responsible for technical preparation and hidden placement of mobile devices in a center Moscow trade, by prior agreement with people directing him from abroad.
“Through this, a massive remote messaging was carried out with false information about the actions of the armed forces in Ukraine, including alleged killings of civilians,” the entity added.
Russian authorities said they called off these criminal activities and conducted a search of the Colombian’s home.
“Objects and documents were confiscated as evidence. During the inspection of the mall, six hidden mobile phones with external power sources were found, which guaranteed the mass sending of SMS messages. The work of the devices was blocked,” added the Russian instruction committee.
Giraldo Saray, who has been living in the countryside for several years, was sentenced on April 11 to nearly two months in custody at the request of the Attorney General’s Office, which the defense appealed for a less stringent precautionary measure, which could include a house refused arrest.
As the Colombian Consulate in Moscow confirmed to Efe, “The Embassy was informed by the Education Committee of the Russian Federation of the arrest of Colombian citizen Alberto Enrique Giraldo Saray on April 10, 2022.”
The diplomatic mission added that the detainee “is a resident of Russia, where he has lived for several years, has a perfect command of the Russian language and was represented at the hearing by a lawyer appointed by him.”
The consular section of the embassy assured that it would “carefully follow the development of the process and provide the necessary consular support”.
If proven guilty, Giraldo Saray could be fined between 3 and 5 million rubles (about $40,000-67,000) or sentenced to five years in forced labor or a prison sentence of between 5 and 10 years.
Source: EFE
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