Since February 24, when Russian forces invaded Ukraine, authorities have passed a series of laws to impose severe penalties on those who publicly condemned the attack and to ban the use of the words “war” and “invasion.” to forbid.
Judge Olessia Mendeleeva found the 60-year-old opponent guilty of spreading “manifestly false information” about the Russian army “in his official capacity” and doing so as part of an organized group motivated by “political hatred”.
“The defendant’s recovery is impossible without imprisonment,” the judge said, before being sentenced to seven years in a penal colony.
Before announcing this verdict, the trial public applauded the defendant, which led to the spectators who had come to support him being expelled from the room.
Alexei Gorinov is the first opponent, an elected official sentenced to prison for his positions against Russian intervention in Ukraine, but other activists are currently in detention awaiting trial.
Lawyer-trained Alexei Gorinov was arrested in April for denouncing Moscow’s “war” and “aggression” against Ukraine on March 15 during a session of its district assembly, which was filmed and broadcast on YouTube for the court to represent aggravating circumstances “All efforts of civil society must be made to end the war and lead to the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory,” he said in particular.
against wars
On Thursday, during his trial, Alexei Gorinov insisted he was “against all wars,” stressing that his father “returned damaged from World War II.”
He also gave the names of Ukrainian cities, such as Boutcha, where Russian forces have been accused of war crimes, abuses that Russian authorities say are lies or fabrications. “I have expressed my opinion and I am now on trial,” said Alexei Gorinov, who has been in Moscow prison since April 26.
Russia, which has long engaged in suppressing voices critical of the Kremlin, has significantly increased its criminal arsenal to silence or punish those who denounce Russian power. This week, the lower house of parliament passed a series of texts providing for heavy prison sentences in very vague language to quell calls to crack down on his safety or even “confidential” cooperation with foreigners.