Human rights activist Oleg Orlov is again accused of repeatedly discrediting the army

One of Russia’s oldest human rights activists, Oleg Orlov, was again charged with criminal charges for “repeated discrediting” of the army. Let us recall that in October the Golovinsky Court of Moscow fined the 70-year-old co-founder of Memorial (entered into the register of foreign agents and liquidated) 150 thousand rubles. for publishing a text criticizing the special military operation. When considering the appeal, the Moscow City Court overturned the verdict and returned the case to the prosecutor’s office. The new resolution on bringing the human rights activist as a defendant states that the motives for his publication were “ideological hostility against traditional Russian spiritual, moral and patriotic values” and “hatred towards the social group “military personnel of the Russian Armed Forces”.”

The Center for the Protection of Human Rights “Memorial” (CHHR; created by employees of the “Memorial” included in the register of foreign agents and liquidated) announced the completion of the re-investigation in the case of human rights activist Oleg Orlov. Let us remind you that in March 2022, Mr. Orlov went to Teatralnaya Square in a single picket against the SVO and was fined 50 thousand rubles. according to Art. 20.3.3 Code of Administrative Offenses (discrediting the actions of the RF Armed Forces). Later, the human rights activist again received a fine for going out on Red Square with a poster. In November of the same year, Oleg Orlov published on social networks a translation of his article for the French publication Mediapart, containing criticism of the SVO. This became the basis for initiating a criminal case under Art. 280.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on “repeated discrediting” of the army. The prosecution demanded that Mr. Orlov be fined 250 thousand rubles. In October, the Golovinsky District Court found the human rights activist guilty, but reduced the fine to 150 thousand rubles. The sentence did not satisfy either the defense, which insisted on Mr. Orlov’s innocence, or the prosecution, which demanded three years in prison for him. During the appeal in the Moscow City Court, the state prosecutor stated that the motive for the crime had not been established in the case, and asked to return the case to the prosecutor’s office, overturning the verdict of the first instance. The court granted this request.

At the end of December, investigator Ilya Savchenko again interrogated Oleg Orlov. On January 29, 2024, Mr. Savchenko issued a decision to bring him as an accused and familiarized the human rights activist with it. The document states that Oleg Orlov published the article “acting deliberately, realizing the illegal nature and social danger of his actions.” The motives for the crime include “ideological hostility against traditional Russian spiritual, moral and patriotic values” and “hatred towards the social group “military personnel of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation”.” As the Center for Human Rights explained, these investigator’s conclusions are based on a new linguistic examination prepared by an employee of the forensic center of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Moscow. It should be noted that the motive of hatred or hostility towards any social group is classified as aggravating circumstances. Earlier, during the consideration of the case in the Golovinsky court, the prosecutor admitted that in the case of Oleg Orlov there were only mitigating circumstances – mainly positive characteristics.

“The complete impression is that there is a desire to attribute aggravating circumstances to me. I am perplexed and confused that I will have to seriously discuss and refute this absurdity – the presence of “a motive for ideological hostility against traditional Russian spiritual, moral and patriotic values,” Mr. Orlov told Kommersant. “The expert made an attempt to substantiate this accusation, but she is a linguist, not a psychologist – how can a linguist establish the motive for hostility? This interrogation and the examination itself will be the subject of research by the defense and, possibly, attracted experts.” The date of the court hearing in the human rights activist’s case is still unknown.

Emilia Gabdullina