Former Moscow politician handed 3 additional years in prison for ‘justifying terrorism’

Former Moscow local councillor Alexey Gorinov has had three years added to his existing prison sentence by a military court in Russia’s central Vladimir region after it found him guilty of “justifying terrorism” in a conversation with a prison informant, independent media outlet Mediazona reported on Friday. 

Gorinov was originally sentenced to seven years in prison for spreading “false information” about the Russian military in July 2022 after he made an anti-war speech at a local council meeting in Moscow.

The fresh charges against him were brought after he defended a Ukrainian attack on the Crimean Bridge, which connects the annexed Ukrainian peninsula to Russia, as well as the actions of Ukraine’s Azov Battalion, deemed a “terrorist organisation” in Russia, in conversation with fellow inmates, one of whom recorded the interaction.

Prosecutors requested an additional 3.5-year prison sentence for Gorinov, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, when his trial began on Wednesday. 

Gorinov, who held up a poster saying “Enough killing. Let’s stop the war” on the first day of his trial, told the court that he did not want to be included in any future prisoner swap with the West, independent news channel SOTAVision reported.

Gorinov’s lawyer Alyona Savelyeva asked for the case to be sent back to the prosecutor on the grounds of the number of procedural violations she identified, saying that the indictment didn’t contain the date of the supposed crime or the exact wording of what her client is alleged to have said.

Savelyeva also noted that prosecutors had failed to identify the four witnesses to whom Gorinov spoke, despite that being a prerequisite for a justification of terrorism charge. She also argued that the case was based on information that was obtained “as a provocation”, which is prohibited by Russian law.

“If I am guilty of anything it is that I, as a citizen of this country, allowed this war to go ahead. I could not stop it. Please consider that in the verdict. But I would like to share my guilt and accountability with the people who organise … and support the war, and those who prosecute those who advocate peace,” Gorinov said in his final statement to the court. 

“I ask the people of Ukraine and my fellow citizens who have suffered due to this war for forgiveness,” he continued, adding, “Let’s stop this pointless, bloody massacre. Isn’t it time to leave our neighbours alone and to deal with our snowballing internal problems?”