The Supreme Court upheld seven years and ten months of imprisonment for the author of the Telegram channel "Real Crime" Ruslan Ushakov in cassation. This was reported by his lawyer from OVD-Info.
In June 2023, Ushakov was found guilty under four articles - dissemination of "fakes" about the Russian army (clause "d" of Part 2 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code), rehabilitation of Nazism (Part 4 of Article 354.1 of the Criminal Code), justification of terrorism (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code), and incitement to hatred or enmity (clause "a" of Part 2 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code) and sentenced to eight years in prison. The reason for the conviction was publications in the Telegram channel "Real Crime" about the shelling of Mariupol and the murder of civilians in Ukraine, as well as "calls for violence against Vladimir Putin."
The punishment was assigned for a combination of "crimes". Thus, under Articles 207.3 and 205.2, Ushakov was sentenced to six years with a ban on using the Internet for two years, under Article 354.1 - three years and a ban on using the Internet for one year, and under Article 282 - four years. In October 2023, the Court of Appeal reduced the sentence by two months.
Ushakov has been in custody since his arrest on December 14, 2022. At one of the court hearings, the man said that he was tortured with electricity during his arrest. During the debate, he also claimed that he immediately admitted guilt under one of the articles and asked not to torture him, but this did not stop the security forces.
You can support the convicted person by writing to him via "F-letter" or by regular mail to the address:
Ushakov Ruslan Vyacheslavovich born 16.08.1993
172011, Staritskaya st., 79, Tver region, Torzhok, IK-4
- 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 950 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.