On video: Ukrainian President Zelensky welcomes Western leaders in Kiev/Telegram
A court in Russia yesterday (Tuesday) sentenced veteran human rights activist Oleg Orlov to two and a half years in prison for "defaming the armed forces" due to his criticism of the war in Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin.
Orlov, 70, whose organization "Memorial" was among the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, was prosecuted for participating in an anti-war demonstration and for an article he wrote under the title: "They wanted fascism. They got it."
"The verdict showed that my article was accurate and true," Orlov said as he was led from the court in handcuffs after his sentence.
He received a standing ovation from his supporters in the Moscow courtroom, including representatives from Western embassies.
The Memorial organization, founded in 1989, has defended freedom of expression and documented human rights violations from the days of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to the present day.
As part of the Kremlin's crackdown, the organization was designated a "foreign agent," banned and disbanded in Russia in 2021.
The prosecution said Orlov demonstrated "political hatred of Russia."
In his closing remarks at the trial on Monday, he condemned the "stifling of freedom" in the country, which he called a "dystopia".
"The sentence against Oleg Orlov is an attempt to drown out the voice of the human rights movement in Russia and any criticism of the state. But we will continue our work," said the memorial, adding that Orlov is a true Russian patriot.
"However, in modern Russia it's the other way around: war is peace, calls for peace are a crime, and a warning that the country fosters violence is a 'hate crime'."
He faced a retrial after appealing his original sentence.
Orlov in court, yesterday/Reuters
Orlov was prosecuted based on laws enacted shortly after the start of the war in Ukraine two years ago.
They established prison sentences for those found guilty of "defaming" the army or spreading "false information" about it.
He was initially fined 150,000 rubles ($1,628) by a district court last year, but after he appealed the original sentence, the court ordered a new trial and the prosecution sought a prison sentence.
"He and I founded 'Memorial' together, but the most important thing we created is a team. A team that will work regardless of whether Oleg is free or not. So we will work. We will live," said his wife Tatiana Kastkina outside the court.
Protesting his retrial, Orlov paid little attention to the hearings in his case.
Instead, he sat in the courtroom reading a copy of The Trial, Franz Kafka's famous book about the absurdity of life and injustice.
In his closing statement, he warned that Russia was "sinking deeper into darkness."
He mentioned the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in prison and the legal persecution of opponents of the regime.
He concluded his words by saying that what is happening in the country is "the strangulation of freedom".
"We know the real reason why we are detained, tried, arrested, sentenced to prison and killed. We are punished for daring to criticize the authorities. In today's Russia it is absolutely forbidden," he said.
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The US ambassador to Russia at the court in Moscow, yesterday/Reuters
The United States condemned the sentence.
"Orlov was sentenced today to two and a half years in prison only because he spoke out peacefully and courageously against Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine," said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
32 human rights organizations, including the Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, also condemned the sentence.
"The Kremlin must not be allowed to eliminate its critics in show trials," said Tanya Lokshina, from the Europe and Central Asia Division at Human Rights Watch.
"International actors should do everything they can to free Orlov and hold Russia accountable for its ongoing and outrageous human rights violations before it's too late."
Putin called on Russians to show unity and beware of "pro-Western traitors" during the war in Ukraine, which Russia calls a "special military operation".
Opponents of the Russian president, who next month is expected to win another term unopposed, say that the outlawing of the Memorial organization, which became famous due to the documentation of crimes from the Stalin era and the rehabilitation of its victims, is part of a broader effort to eradicate opposition and rewrite the country's history.
Putin's most prominent critics are serving prison terms or exiles outside of Russia.
His most famous opponent, Alexei Navalny, died under mysterious circumstances in a penal colony about two weeks ago.
His supporters, his family and Western countries accuse the Kremlin of responsibility for his death, but Moscow rejects it outright.
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The war in Ukraine