The Moscow councillor is already serving a seven-year jail term for ‘disseminating knowingly false information’ about the Russian army during a council meeting

He was the first person jailed under a repressive Russian law criminalising criticism of the war in Ukraine

Gorinov is ‘a brave man whose only “crime” is publicly voicing his disdain for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine’ - Natalia Zviagina  

Responding to news that the jailed Russian anti-war activist Aleksei Gorinov has today been given an additional three-year prison sentence on charges of “justifying terrorism” (article 205.2 of the country’s criminal code), Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s Russia Director, said:

“The outrageous new sentence for Aleksei Gorinov - a brave man whose only ‘crime’ is publicly voicing his disdain for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine - is a bone-chilling reminder of the lengths to which the Kremlin will go to stifle dissent. 

“Gorinov’s ongoing persecution reflects the ruthlessness of political reprisals in Russia, where one lengthy prison term may be followed by another.

“The Russian authorities must cease this relentless targeting of activists, release Aleksei Gorinov and everyone else who is arbitrarily detained for exercising their human rights, and fully comply with their obligations to respect the right to freedom of expression.”

Earlier today a court in the Russian city of Vladimir handed down the sentence against Gorinov, a former Moscow municipal deputy. The charges against him stemmed from reported conversations between Gorinov and others imprisoned in a penal colony during which he allegedly expressed sympathy for “the ideology of terrorism” in the context of the war in Ukraine. Gorinov, however, categorically denied the charges and any supposed support for violence. “My guilt is that I, as a citizen of my country, allowed this war to begin and was unable to stop it”, he said in his final court statement.

In July 2022, Gorinov was sentenced to seven years in prison for “disseminating knowingly false information” about the Russian army. His alleged “crime” was speaking during a council meeting about the devastating impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine - including the deaths of Ukrainian children - and calling the war an act of aggression. This was the first prison sentence issued under a repressive Russian law criminalising criticism of the war. Gorinov’s case has attracted wide international condemnation, including calls from the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Russia for his immediate release.