A human rights activist from Cherepovets has had his house arrest extended in the case of “fake news” about the Russian army

The Cherepovets City Court extended house arrest until January 24, 2023 for human rights activist Gregory Marcus Severin Winter (former name Grigory Winter), accused under the article on “fake news” about the Russian army (clause “e”, part 2 of article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by OVD-Info lawyer Sergei Tikhonov, who represents the man’s interests.

The case against Winter was initiated due to comments about the actions of Russian soldiers in Bucha and Irpen , published on VKontakte. In September it became known that the human rights activist was placed in custody.

Winter talked about the difficult conditions in the pre-trial detention center: at night the temperature in his cell dropped to 4-6 degrees - as a result, the man became deaf in one ear due to the low temperature. According to the accused, in the detention center he lacked the necessary medications, including insulin.

The person involved in the case also reported that in the pre-trial detention center they humiliated and beat him, trying to get him to write a statement saying that he was “low.”

On October 19, the court did not extend the human rights activist’s term of detention and transferred him to house arrest. The prosecutor's office appealed this decision, but subsequently the court did not change the preventive measure for Winter again and left him at home.

The case of “fakes” about the Russian army is not the first case of persecution of a human rights activist. In 2020, a criminal case was opened against Winter for “fakes” about coronavirus (Article 207.1 of the Criminal Code) and was sentenced to two years of restriction of freedom. In August of the same year, the punishment was replaced by six months of correctional labor. The man was also prosecuted for contempt of court .

In March 2018, Winter was attacked by an unknown assailant outside his own home. The man is sure that the attack was organized by local authorities because of his participation in saving the Pulovsky forest.

• Since February 24—the first day of the “special operation” in Ukraine—residents of Russian cities have been going out to anti-war rallies every day and talking about the tragedy online. Anti-war speeches and statements become grounds for criminal prosecution. At the moment, more than 350 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protest against the war with Ukraine. Read more about this in our guide .
• Article 207.3 (Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation) was included in the Criminal Code in March 2022 - in this way the authorities responded to anti-war speeches and statements, as well as the dissemination of information about the war that does not come from official Russian sources. The maximum penalty under this article is 15 years in prison.