"Put him in jail at all costs." The prosecutor asked for a harsher sentence for Memorial co-chairman Oleg Orlov for "discrediting the army."
A real prison term instead of a fine: a prosecutor by last name Vorobyova requested a real sentence of 2 years and 11 months "to prevent recidivism." The trial took place today in MoscowThe verdict will be announced tomorrow.
After the trial, Oleg Orlov commented on the turn of events in the case. He noted that he could not have been sentenced to prison under this article—the "crime" is not considered serious, and he had no prior convictions.
"But orders came from somewhere above: put him in jail at all costs. They started searching, conjuring up all sorts of aggravating circumstances like hatred, enmity, and so on. In this devious way, they found them.", Orlov said.
The case of "discrediting" the Russian Supreme Court was opened in the spring of 2023. In October, Moscow's Golovinsky Court sentenced Orlov to a fine of 150 rubles. The prosecutor's office appealed the verdict. According to Mediazona, the expert analysis claims, that in Oleg Orlov’s text the Armed Forces “are characterized as being associated with genocide, the murder of people, the destruction of infrastructure, the economy and cultural objects” and “criminal, directed against the existing system or violating the existing order.”
Previously, a political scientist To Boris Kagarlitsky the court too replaced A fine of 600 rubles for "calls to terrorism" with a real sentence of five years' imprisonment.