Russian human rights activist sentenced to fine

The verdict against the Russian human rights activist Oleg Orlov was announced in Moscow at around 4 pm today. Orlov was found guilty and sentenced to a fine of 150,000 Rubles, the equivalent of around 1,500 Euros. “The entire court proceedings were a politically motivated farce – although the court has fallen short of the prosecutor’s demands,” stated Sarah Reinke, the STP’s expert on Eastern Europe. “The good news is that Orlov and his allies, including Dmitri Muratov, were able to use the proceedings as a platform, allowing them to publicly criticize Putin’s regime and his war against Ukraine.” Muratov is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate (2021) and the editor-in-chief of the Nowaja Gaseta. 

Today, Orlov said in his closing statement: “I have no regrets. I don’t regret participating in anti-war pickets or writing the article for which I am now being sentenced. My whole life trajectory left me with no other choice. I don’t regret not leaving Russia. This is my country, my homeland, and I believed that my voice would resonate louder from here. I wasn’t mistaken!”

The reasons for his prosecution were his one-man-protest on the Red Square and his article “They wanted fascism. They got it”. 

Today, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), Memorial Germany, and Demokrati-JA protested on behalf of Oleg Orlov in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin. The deputy chairman of the Russian human rights organization Memorial, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, appeared in court today at 11 am Moscow time. The STP had already protested at the same spot in Berlin in July, demanding Orlov to be released and acquitted. An according appeal was signed by roughly 1,000 people.   

The verdict against the Russian human rights activist Oleg Orlov was announced in Moscow at around 4 pm today. Orlov was found guilty and sentenced to a fine of 150,000 Rubles, the equivalent of around 1,500 Euros. “The entire court proceedings were a politically motivated farce – although the court has fallen short of the prosecutor’s demands,” stated Sarah Reinke, the STP’s expert on Eastern Europe. “The good news is that Orlov and his allies, including Dmitri Muratov, were able to use the proceedings as a platform, allowing them to publicly criticize Putin’s regime and his war against Ukraine.” Muratov is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate (2021) and the editor-in-chief of the Nowaja Gaseta. 

Today, Orlov said in his closing statement: “I have no regrets. I don’t regret participating in anti-war pickets or writing the article for which I am now being sentenced. My whole life trajectory left me with no other choice. I don’t regret not leaving Russia. This is my country, my homeland, and I believed that my voice would resonate louder from here. I wasn’t mistaken!”

The reasons for his prosecution were his one-man-protest on the Red Square and his article “They wanted fascism. They got it”. 

Today, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), Memorial Germany, and Demokrati-JA protested on behalf of Oleg Orlov in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin. The deputy chairman of the Russian human rights organization Memorial, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, appeared in court today at 11 am Moscow time. The STP had already protested at the same spot in Berlin in July, demanding Orlov to be released and acquitted. An according appeal was signed by roughly 1,000 people.