The Fourth Court of Cassation in the Krasnodar Territory approved a sentence of six years in a general regime colony to local resident Alexander Somryakov because of his publications about the war. Information about this appeared on the court's website.
Somryakov is being prosecuted under the article on the dissemination of military “fakes” based on political hatred (clause “e”, part 2, article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). At the beginning of April 2023, the Pervomaisky District Court of Krasnodar passed a verdict, and in mid-July of the same year it was approved by the regional court. In addition to actual imprisonment, he was given a four-year ban on publishing on the Internet. Since September, the man has been in the regional IK-9 in Khadyzhensk.
The reason for the persecution of Somryakov was his publications that Russian troops attacked a maternity hospital and a drama theater in Mariupol , and also committed a “mass slaughter of civilians” in Ukraine, including “killing 260 people in the small town of Bucha .”
The press service of the courts claims that the man partially admitted his guilt: he said that he spread “false” information in an attempt to “gain more subscribers, likes and comments.”
- Since February 24, 2022—the first day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine—residents of Russian cities have been holding anti-war protests every day and talking about the tragedy online. Anti-war speeches and statements become grounds for criminal prosecution. At the moment, more than 850 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protest against the war with Ukraine. Read more about this in our infographic .
- 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.