Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow politician gets 7 years for denouncing war

Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow politician gets 7 years for denouncing war

A Moscow councillor has been jailed for seven years for speaking out against Russia's war in Ukraine - in what is said to be the first full jail term under new laws targeting dissent.

Alexei Gorinov, 60, was arrested in April after he was filmed criticising the invasion in a city council meeting.

Under the post-invasion law, anyone who spreads "fake news" about the military faces up to 15 years in jail.

Russians are banned from using the word war to describe the invasion.

President Vladimir Putin has instead coined the phrase "special military operation", although he spoke of the "war in the Donbas" in remarks to parliamentary leaders on Thursday.

Human rights activist Pavel Chikov said Gorinov's sentence was the first jail term under the new law. Until now judges have only handed down a fine or a suspended sentence.

Judge Olesya Mendeleyeva ruled he had carried out his crime "based on political hatred" and had misled Russians, prompting them to "feel anxiety and fear" about the military campaign.

Appearing in court in northern Moscow, Gorinov held up a piece of paper with words he had written in pen: "Do you still need this war?" A security official held up his hands to try to obscure the message.

Gorinov was arrested several weeks after addressing the council meeting in mid-March


The opposition councillor was arrested in late April, more than a month after he addressed a district meeting in the Krasnoselsky area of north-east Moscow.

At the meeting Gorinov objected to the idea of a children's drawing contest being held when children were dying in Ukraine. He had also tried to start the council meeting with a moment's silence to remember the victims.

Another opposition councillor who supported his remarks has since fled Russia. Prosecutors said they had both deliberately conspired to discredit the Russian military.

According to activists and reporters who were in court on Friday, Gorinov told the judge that Russia had exhausted its limit on wars in the 20th Century. "And yet its present is Bucha, Irpin, Hostomel," he said, listing some of the places were Russian forces are alleged to have committed war crimes.

His friend and opposition activist Ilya Yashin tweeted his "horror" at the sentence. Yashin himself was recently given a 15-day jail term for resisting arrest. Another activist, Maria Alyokhina, said it was "historic hell" that an elected councillor was being jailed for seven years for calling a war a war.

Russian political expert Tatiana Stanovaya said it was clear the authorities were sending a warning to "dissenters". Using the term war was sabotage in the eyes of the authorities, she said. But when combined with political action such as Gorinov's it was seen as almost terrorism and would be met with a long jail term.

Russian prosecutors are also calling for a long prison term for prominent pro-democracy figure Andrei Pivovarov, who was removed from a plane as it was about to leave St Petersburg in May. His lawyer said he was accused of directing an undesirable organisation, Open Russia.


Ukraine war: The Russian woman rescued from a Kyiv bomb site


AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
China Presses Netherlands to “properly” Resolve the Nexperia Seizure as Supply Chain Risks Grow
Merz Attacks Migrants, Sparks Uproar, and Refuses to Apologize: “Ask Your Daughters”
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
Wave of Complaints Against Apple Over iPhone 17 Pro’s Scratch Sensitivity
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
×