The Russian dissident Oleg Orlovan experienced human rights defender sentenced this Tuesday from a Moscow court sentenced to two and a half years in prison for his repeated criticism of the offensive in Ukraine.
Orlov, 70 years old, was part of the NGO Memorial, an organization that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 for his work in preserving the memory of the repression during the Soviet era, which was resolved by the Russian judiciary.
“The court has decided to declare Orlov guilty and sentence him to a prison sentence of two years and six months (…) in a penal colony,” the judge announced when reading the verdict, an AFP journalist who attended the trial reported attended.
After the verdict was read, Orlov, dressed in a thin sweater, winked at his wife Tatiana and said, “Tania, you promised me,” apparently asking her not to cry.
In his final speech to the court on Monday, Orlov denounced the “strangling of freedom” in Russia and the sending of Russian troops to Ukraine.
“I don’t regret anything,” he said.
He also criticized the Feb. 16 death of opponent Alexei Navalni in an Arctic prison, which he called a “murder,” and urged other opponents “not to lose heart.”
Orlov never wanted to leave Russia.
“I am more useful here,” he told AFP in an interview in mid-February, in which he defended that it was “important” that critical voices continued to exist despite the systematic repression in Russia.
This dissident was found guilty of “discrediting” the army in the first instance in October 2023 and was sentenced to a small fine, a lenient sentence compared to the usual penalties imposed on other government critics.
The Russian judiciary then decided to appeal the verdict and opened a new case against the dissident.
AFP
