Russia Moscow extends detention for war opponent in summary proceedings

A Russian military court has sentenced war opponent Alexei Gorinov, who was already imprisoned, to three years in prison for allegedly justifying terrorism. The independent portal Mediazona reported that the sentence would be extended by one year to eight years due to the combination of the two sentences.

However, the judge in Vladimir, around 200 kilometers east of Moscow, ordered the 63-year-old to be transferred to a penal camp with strict prison conditions. The trial lasted just three days.

Gorinov has been in custody since 2022 for allegedly discrediting the Russian army and is considered to be in poor health. The former member of a Moscow district assembly was one of the first people in Russia to be sentenced to prison without parole for allegedly discrediting the Russian army. At a meeting, he had called for a minute's silence "for the victims of the current military aggression in Ukraine".

The new trial was based on statements made by fellow prisoners. According to them, Gorinov is said to have justified Ukraine's defense campaign and the blowing up of the Crimean Bridge.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov criticized the fact that the prisoners had been specifically targeted at Gorinov in order to provoke the statements. Following the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine ordered by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, the Russian parliament has significantly tightened the relevant legislation. Hundreds of people have already been sentenced for criticizing the war.

SDA