The Court of Cassation overturned the sentence of Alexey Moskalev, convicted under the article on “discrediting” the army. The case was sent for retrial

The First Cassation Court of Saratov overturned the sentence of Alexey Moskalev under the article on repeated “discrediting” of the Russian army, reports OVD-Info with reference to Moskalev’s lawyer Vladimir Bilienko.

According to him, the case was sent for a new trial to the appellate court. Moskalev was also given a preventive measure of two months in a pre-trial detention center.

The reason for the court's decision to send the case for review is unknown. Bilienko, in a comment to RusNews , suggested that “the reason for this could be violations, which ones are not yet clear.”

• The Moskalev family came to the attention of law enforcement agencies in April 2022, when Alexei’s daughter Masha drew an anti-war drawing in an art class. After this, an administrative protocol was first drawn up against Moskalev for “discrediting” the Russian army, and then a criminal case was opened for repeated “discrediting” due to comments on Odnoklassniki.
• In March 2023, the court sentenced Moskalev to two years in prison. Moskalev, who was under house arrest at the time, fled and did not appear at the sentencing. He was detained in Minsk and returned to Russia in mid-April.