Russian Human Rights Activist Oleg Orlov Sentenced to Prison for Speaking Out Against War

Russian human rights defender Oleg Orlov, co-chair of Memorial Human Rights Defence Center and recipient of prestigious accolades, has been sentenced to two and a half years in a correctional colony by the Golovinsky District Court in Moscow.

Orlov’s imprisonment is based on the alleged crime of ‘repeatedly discrediting’ Russia’s armed forces, with the Court citing ideological hostility against servicemen of the Russian Federation as an aggravating circumstance, according to Article 63-1(e) of the Criminal Code.

The charges stem from an article published on a French platform, Le Club de Mediapart, leading to a series of legal proceedings that culminated in Orlov’s imprisonment.

Following intense scrutiny of his actions, including repeated fines for protesting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Orlov’s conviction marks a concerning trend in escalating domestic repression within Russia.

Despite being labeled as a ‘foreign agent’ shortly before the trial, Orlov refused to partake actively in the proceedings, expressing his dissent by reading Franz Kafka’s novel ‘The Trial’ during the trial.

The swift and condensed nature of the trial, which appeared to be influenced by upcoming presidential elections, further underscores the politicization of Orlov’s case and the broader crackdown on dissenting voices in the country.