Russian police kill cat of man sentenced to 3 years’ jail for online comments

While searching the flat of Takhir Arslanov, a 67-year-old Novosibirsk resident sentenced today to three years in prison for anti-war comments online, Russian law enforcement killed his cat. The story was reported by Svetlana Kaverzina, a member of the Novosibirsk city council.

Kaverzina said that she had asked Arslanov during a break in the court proceedings today if he had any pets to look after.

“It turns out he had a cat which was killed during the search. An element of intimidation, probably…”, she wrote.

Arslanov was charged with calls for terrorism and extremism online as well as with calls for mass disorder. The prosecution demanded a 6-year sentence. Today, Arslanov was sentenced to three years in jail.

Arslanov had earlier told SotaVision that the reason for his criminal prosecution were comments he left on VK, branding the conflict in Ukraine “a war of aggression by Kremlin fascists” and calling for the burning of draft offices.

The case against him was opened last February. The police conducted two searches of his home, during which they broke down the front door.

“The man has 50 years of work experience, including at classified defence plants. He served in the army, played for the region’s volleyball team. His employment record book is full of commendations,” Kaverzina wrote. “And in return, the Motherland gave him a pension of 14,000 rubles [€140], searches in the dead of night with doors broken down, interrogations until 5 AM, blocked bank cards and, the cherry on top — a criminal case for two online comments.”