A Moscow court has sentenced an anti-war activist to eight and a half years in prison. He was accused of spreading alleged false news about Russia’s army in Ukraine. The procedure had been criticized as politically motivated.
The 23-year-old scientist Dmitri Ivanov had openly criticized the Russian invasion in his Telegram channel. Ivanov had also accused the Russian army of war crimes, for example in Bucha near the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. Hundreds of bodies had been found there, some with their hands tied behind their backs.
Russia denies committing war crimes in Bucha or elsewhere, despite thousands of documented acts of violence. Anyone in Russia who criticizes the war ordered by Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin as a crime and who damages the reputation of the Russian army risks lengthy imprisonment in prison camps.
Supporters: Many in Russia share Ivanov’s criticism
Ivanov’s supporters, who continue to run his Telegram channel Protestny MGU (English: Protesting Moscow State University), called for support for the activist. “Dima Ivanov is sitting for speaking his opinion about the war, which many in Russia share,” the verdict said.
The graduate mathematician and programmer had been involved in civil society for years and came out as a harsh critic of the invasion after the war began on February 24 last year.
