Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow councillor jailed for 7 years for denouncing Putin's invasion

Alexei Gorinov, a councillor of Moscow was sentenced to 7 years prison term after he was filmed slamming the Russia-Ukraine war. According to BBC, 60-year-old Gorinov of Krasnoselsky municipal council was indicted for "spreading false information" during a city council meeting when he questioned the necessity of the ongoing conflict despite the colossal losses faced by both sides. Gorinov was booked for a crime "based on political hatred" that attempted to mislead Russians, said Judge Olesya Mendeleyeva while announcing the verdict, BBC said.

This is the first full jail term under the newly imposed post-invasion laws on tackling dissidents- Article 207.3 criminal code outlaws "deliberate dissemination of false information." A Russian native found guilty of disseminating "fake news" against the government and the "special military operation" in Ukraine could be slapped with a maximum of 15 years in jail under the new legislation. The judge on Friday also said that Gorinov was attempting to promote "anxiety and fear" about the military campaign. Standing by his opposition to the war, Gorinov on Friday appeared for his hearing with a piece of paper which read -- "Do you still need this war?" Russian security officials tried hard to block the message on the poster from the camera as Moscow is hellbent on uprooting the last vestiges of critics.

Why was Alexei Gorinov sentenced?

During his meeting in the Krasnoselsky district, Gorinov rejected the idea of a sit-in children drawing contest in the wake of atrocities in Ukraine. "What kind of children's drawing contest can we talk about for Children's day when we have children dying every day," Gorinov said, as per a recording of his speech posted on YouTube. He also observed a moment of silence in remembrance of the Ukrainian war victims, which Russia dubbed a preposterous conspiracy to discredit the Kremlin's war in Ukraine.

Notably, this is the first jail term imposed on a "dissenter" for anti-war remarks, said human rights activist Pavel Chikov, as per BBC. Previously, judges had only levied fines and suspensions on government officials. Explaining why the step was deemed necessary by Moscow, political expert Tatiana Stanovaya told BBC that it was a warning to potential opposers as the word "war" was sabotage in the eyes of the Kremlin.

Meanwhile, another councillor, who supported Gorinov reportedly fled Russia in fear of serving prison time. Moscow has also targetted Andrei Pivovarov, a supporter of democracy over accusations of establishing and directing an 'undesirable' organisation 'Open Russia.' As reported by BBC, he was nabbed from an outbound flight from St. Petersburg in May and is currently facing calls for long-term prison by Russian prosecutors.

(Image: AP)