Ukrainian-born activist jailed in Russia for “justifying terrorism”

A Ukrainian-born activist was jailed for seven years by a Russian court on Wednesday for “justifying terrorism,” according to a Telegram channel petitioning for his release.

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Mikhail Krieger, 63, was arrested last November over social media posts he wrote in 2020 in which he praised two men who staged attacks on buildings of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) as “heroes.”

Prosecutors also said Krieger had “incited hatred” when he posted in 2020 that Russian President Vladimir Putin should be hanged, according to Russian news outlet Insider. They had sought a nine-year prison term, according to the Telegram channel organized in Krieger’s support.

He denied the charges against him and spoke out during the trial against Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“I consider this war to be that rare conflict in which the truth is 100 percent present on one side. And that side is Ukraine,” Krieger said on Wednesday, referring to himself as a native of Ukraine, according to the Telegram channel.

His case is the latest in a slew of court trials against those who voice opposition to the war. Criminal cases have been launched against more than 500 people for anti-war protests, according to Russian human rights network OVD-Info.

An activist and former member of Moscow’s Tagansky District Council, Krieger has helped organize rallies in support of Ukraine since Russia’s earlier invasion in 2014, according to Insider. He also protested in support of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny and other dissidents targeted by the Kremlin, it reported.

“Now, because of the manic ambitions of our Fuhrer in my native Dnipro, my numerous relatives, classmates, and childhood friends are sitting in basements awaiting shellings and bombings,” Krieger said Wednesday, referring to the city of Dnipro in eastern Ukraine.

He said Putin “deserves an execution like those other war criminals who were sentenced to hang, like at the Nuremberg Tribunal” where leading Nazis were tried after World War Two.

Russian human rights organization Memorial previously designated Krieger a political prisoner. In 2021, a Moscow court ordered the closure of Memorial.

When his sentenced was announced on Wednesday, Krieger cried out “Glory to Ukraine!” according to the Telegram channel.

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