(Reuters) – A Moscow court has declared a retrial for Oleg Orlov, a prominent Russian human rights activist accused of discrediting the country’s armed forces. Orlov, 70, has been a leading figure in Memorial for over 20 years, an organization awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, a year after being banned and dissolved in Russia.
Previously, a district court imposed a 150,000 rouble ($1,687) fine on Orlov in October for his critical views on the Ukraine war. This relatively light sentence, considering his age and health, was appealed by Orlov. Subsequently, prosecutors sought a three-year jail term, alleging “political hatred of Russia,” a claim Orlov refutes.
During Thursday’s hearing, Orlov affirmed his patriotism and reiterated his condemnation of the Ukraine war and the decline of human rights in Russia, as reported by Memorial’s Telegram channel. The retrial was prompted by a legal technicality following a change in the prosecutor’s stance.
Following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has intensified its crackdown on political dissent and made it a criminal offense to undermine the armed forces or dissent from official narratives of its “special military operation.”
Speaking at a year-end press conference in Moscow on Thursday, President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed his commitment to continue the fight in Ukraine until achieving its “demilitarisation,” “denazification,” and neutrality. However, Kyiv and its Western allies assert Russia’s actions constitute an unprovoked aggression and imperialistic land seizure.
($1 = 88.8990 roubles)
(Writing by Gareth Jones; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
