Moscow: A veteran human rights advocate and co-chair of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights group Memorial has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail for speaking out against the war in Ukraine. Oleg Orlov, 70, was convicted of “repeatedly discrediting” the Russian army in an article he wrote denouncing the invasion of Ukraine.
The move highlighted the perils of criticising the Russian government and the Army, already under the scanner after the death of opposition leader and long-time Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. The prosecution claimed Orlov published his scathing article about the Army "against traditional Russian spiritual, moral and patriotic values” and hatred of the Russian military, according to local media reports.
The elderly advocate rejected the case against him as "politically motivated" as he was taken directly into custody from the courtroom. The prosecution on Monday demanded that he be sentenced to two years and 11 months in prison. The verdict concluded a retrial after Orlov was earlier ordered to pay a fine, but the prosecution appealed the fine, demanding a harsher punishment.
Meanwhile, the UN condemned the judicial harassment of Orlov and called the trial politically motivated. “I call on Russian authorities to immediately drop all criminal charges against Oleg Orlov, known for his unrelenting fight for human rights and research of historic truth in Russia,” said Mariana Katzarova, the UN Special Rapporteur in Russia.
“Orlov’s trial is not just an attack on the individual, but an orchestrated attempt to silence the voices of human rights defenders in Russia and any criticism of the war on Ukraine. It is a textbook example of a repressive system in which law enforcement and the judiciary are instrumentalised for political purposes,” she added.
What did Orlov say?
Orlov has been an outspoken critic of the war in Ukraine and, back home, the war on dissent. He wrote in the opinion piece that Russian troops were committing “mass murder” in Ukraine and that his country had “slipped back into totalitarianism”, according to the Guardian.
In his closing speech to the court, Orlov maintained that he had committed no crime and regretted nothing, instead castigating the “totalitarian” and “fascist” Russian state. "Isn’t it scary to watch what our country, which you probably also love, is turning into? Isn’t it scary that in this absurdity, in this dystopia, maybe not only you and your children will have to live, but also, God forbid, your grandchildren?" he added.
Russia’s supreme court ordered the closure of the Memorial in 2021, in what many saw as a watershed moment in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on independent thought. Orlov has now joined a small group of other prominent dissenters who have been imprisoned for speaking out against the war in Ukraine.
Two years of Russia-Ukraine war
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, after weeks of tensions with the Western countries over the expansion of NATO. After a string of victories in the first year of the war, fortunes have turned for the Ukrainian military, which is dug in, outgunned and outnumbered against a more powerful opponent.
Ukraine suffered setbacks after the much-anticipated summer counteroffensive failed to produce any breakthroughs. The armed forces switched to a defensive posture in the fall to repel new advances from Moscow. On February 17, Russian forces took control of the embattled city of Avdiivka, where Kyiv's troops were under constant fire with Russians approaching from three directions.
Both Russia and Ukraine have sought to keep casualty figures under wraps. Few details about Ukrainian military deaths have emerged since the full-scale invasion began in 2022. But it's clear that tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians have been killed.
Ukraine is reliant on Western allies and international organisations not just for military aid but also for financial support and humanitarian help. Without Western assistance, Ukraine will not have the weapons, ammunition and training it needs to sustain the war effort, nor will it be able to keep its battered economy afloat or reach Ukrainians trapped in the crossfire of battles.
Kyiv breathed a sigh of relief in February when the EU approved extending a 50-billion-euro ($54-billion) aid package for Ukraine after resistance from Hungary. That money is meant to support the economy and rebuild the country, not to fight Russia. However, the US administration under President Joe Biden is still struggling to provide support as $60 billion in military aid is languishing in a divided Congress.
(with inputs from AP)
ALSO READ | 'Several Indians already discharged': MEA rejects reports about Indians seeking discharge from Russian Army
