Sergei Mikhailov was arrested in 2022 after publishing reviews on civilian deaths in Bucha and Mariupol.
A Russian courtroom has sentenced journalist Sergei Mikhailov to eight years in jail for “deliberately spreading false info” in regards to the Russian navy, a human rights group has confirmed.
Prosecutors in Gorno-Altaysk, a metropolis within the southern Altay area that lies within the foothills of the Altai Mountains, mentioned the 48-year-old man was motivated by “political hatred,” the Web Freedoms Challenge mentioned on its Telegram channel on Friday.
The courtroom additionally imposed a four-year ban on the journalist from journalistic and editorial actions, it added.
Mikhailov, a journalist and editor of Listok, was arrested in 2022 close to Moscow for posting on the publication’s Telegram channel and web site in regards to the killing of civilians in Bucha, northwest of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, and about Russian shelling and killings within the southeastern metropolis of Mariupol.
The occasions in each Ukrainian cities characterize the worst of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, human rights teams have mentioned.
The journalist denies wrongdoing and his protection is anticipated to take the stand subsequent week, in line with the Web Freedoms Challenge.
Earlier this week, Mikhailov informed the courtroom he stood by his info and sharply criticised the Kremlin for sending troops into Ukraine.
He mentioned the Russian state narrative of calling Ukrainian leaders “fascists” had “created an entire digital universe within the info area, and this fog turned stronger and stronger.”
“My posts have been directed in opposition to this fog, in order that my readers wouldn’t be seduced by lies, in order that they’d not take part in armed conflicts, wouldn’t develop into murderers and victims, and wouldn’t hurt the brotherly Ukrainian individuals,” Mikhailov mentioned, in an audio of the speech posted by Listok on social media.
Mikhailov was arrested shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Whereas President Vladimir Putin has been tightening Russia’s grip on press freedoms and free speech over the previous decade, repression and crackdowns on dissent have intensified dramatically because the begin of the battle, watchdogs say.
Three months after the invasion, Putin expanded legal guidelines in opposition to “overseas brokers” to incorporate non-profit organizations, media shops, journalists and activists. This meant that organizations that obtained any overseas assist – together with donations or different funding – could possibly be designated as overseas brokers.
In 2023, Putin pushed by way of battle censorship legal guidelines that may penalize anybody who could possibly be accused of discrediting the Russian navy or sharing details about its conduct that doesn’t conform to the federal government line. These accused of violating these legal guidelines could possibly be jailed for as much as 15 years.
State censorship has led to the closure of a number of impartial media shops and the persecution of distinguished journalists, forcing tons of of reporters into exile. Others have remained in Russia at a excessive worth.
In keeping with human rights group OVD-Data, greater than 1,000 persons are defending themselves in prison instances introduced over their criticism of the battle in Ukraine.
