The Gagarinsky District Court of Moscow sentenced former Vice-Rector of the Higher School of Economics Konstantin Sonin in absentia to 8.5 years in prison in the case of anti-war fasts. This was reported by RBC.
The economist was found guilty under the article on dissemination of military "fakes" motivated by political hatred (paragraph "d" of Part 2 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). Sonin is outside of Russia. In May 2023, he was put on the federal wanted list, and in February of this year, the professor was arrested in absentia.
The criminal case against Sonin became known in March 2023. The Moscow agency then wrote that the persecution of the scientist was connected with three posts on his Telegram channel about the actions of Russian military personnel in Ukraine. In April 2024, Sonin's case was submitted to court.
"What I am accused of is a completely false accusation. Of course, I did not post any fakes, but only posted facts [about the war], which are well documented. And there is no point in explaining this - the trial will be fictitious, and a sentence will be passed. This means that I cannot come to Russia - I do not see any other restrictions," Sonin commented on his persecution.
Konstantin Sonin lives abroad, he works at the University of Chicago. The professor left the HSE in 2022. Previously, he also held the post of vice-rector of the New Economic School. In September 2023, he was added to the register of "foreign agents".
- Since February 24, 2022 — the first day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine — residents of Russian cities have been taking part in anti-war protests and talking about the tragedy online every day. Anti-war speeches and statements are becoming grounds for criminal prosecution. At the moment, more than 900 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protests 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 — this is how 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 the article is 15 years in prison.