This is the moment one of Russia’s most distinguished human rights defenders was handcuffed and forced to remain in cells for daring to criticize Vladimir Putin’s war.
Oleg Orlov, 70, won a share of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 after the Memorial group was banned and disbanded in Russia.
Today he was jailed for 30 months in the latest sign of the growing repression imposed by dictator Putin and the Kremlin regime.
His lawyer Katerina Tertukhina momentarily grabbed the back of his hand as guards approached to handcuff him and lead him to the courthouse’s glass cage, where he raised his fist defiantly.
As he was led through the court building, dozens of supporters applauded the distinguished activist.
Oleg Orlov, 70, won a share of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 after the Memorial group was banned and disbanded in Russia.
He was jailed for 30 months in the latest sign of faltering repression under dictator Putin.
In his final speech before the court, Orlov – for two decades one of the leaders of the Memorial – had lashed out at the “totalitarian” and “fascist” Russian state, warning officials who could be the next to fall foul of tyranny. of Putin.
The pensioner was escorted out of the courtroom by at least eight armed security officers who hid their faces as he was sentenced to 30 months in Putin’s hellish prison system, where Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny died this month. in an alleged murder.
He was convicted for an article he wrote accusing Putin of leading Russia to fascism. This came at a retrial after he had previously been fined due to his age and health.
In an emotional final speech to the court, Orlov said: ‘I want to appeal to those who are now advancing the steamroller of repression with their work.
‘To government officials, law enforcement officials, judges, prosecutors.
‘In fact, you understand everything perfectly and not all of you are firm supporters of political repression.
‘Sometimes you regret what you have to do, but you say to yourself: ‘What can I do? I only follow the instructions of my superiors: the law is the law.’
The human rights activist waited in court to hear the verdict: 30 months passed.
Orlov said: “Isn’t it scary to see what our country, which maybe you also love, is becoming?”
He was led through the court building as dozens of supporters applauded the distinguished activist.
Addressing the judge, he said: ‘I am addressing you, your honor, I am addressing the representative of the prosecution: Are you not afraid yourself?
‘Isn’t it scary to see what our country, which perhaps you also love, is becoming?
‘Isn’t it scary that not only you, but also your children and, God forbid, your grandchildren have to live in this absurdity, in this dystopia?
“Doesn’t the obvious come to mind: the steamroller of repression can sooner or later overwhelm those who launched and pushed it, because this has happened more than once in history?”
He warned: “These are all links in the same chain: the death, or rather, the massacre of Alexei (Navalny), the judicial reprisals against other critics of the regime, including me, the strangulation of freedom in the country, the entry of Russian troops in Ukraine.’
Orlov praised Navalny in his remarkable speech to the court before sentencing.
“He was an incredible, brave and honest person, who, in incredibly difficult conditions specifically for him, did not lose optimism and faith in the future of our country,” he said.
“Whatever the specific circumstances of his death, it was a murder.”
Orlov praised Navalny in his remarkable speech to the court before the sentencing
He was greeted by a crowd of journalists outside the courtroom during the hearing.
Orlov previously told The guardian: ‘I made the decision a long time ago that I want to live and die in Russia, it’s my country… Although it’s never been this bad.’
The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Russia, Mariana Katzarova, called Orlov’s trial “an orchestrated attempt to silence the voices of human rights defenders in Russia” and a “textbook example of a system repressive”.
Memorial, founded in 1989, has documented human rights abuses from the time of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to the present and has defended freedom of expression, focusing on identifying and honoring individual victims.