Oleg Orlov, Human rights activist and the co-chair of the Memorial Human Rights Defense Center, will face criminal charges and risks three years of imprisonment for his opposition to the war in Ukraine.
The trial against Oleg Orlov will start tomorrow in Moscow’s Koptevskiy District Court.
Oleg Orlov is a co-chair of the Human rights centre memorial and a human rights activist.
This eminent peace activist, who has spent over 40 years campaigning for peace and experienced the evils of war, is being tried tomorrow, June 8, for his anti-war position.
Oleg Petrovich is facing three years in prison for his open and fearless condemnation of Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
He also opposed the Soviet Russia Invasion of Afghanistan during the 80s as he single-handedly posted and distributed homemade leaflets against the war in Afghanistan.
Despite that, The Soviet Union supported the Afghan communist government in its conflict with anti-communist Muslim guerrillas during the Afghan War (1978–92) and remained in Afghanistan until mid-Febraury 1989.
According to Orlov, the war in Ukraine symbolized his country’s ultimate ascent into fascism, more than just the enormous mass killing and destruction.
He is now being tried for “public actions aimed at discrediting the use of armed forces of the Russian Federation” (Article 280.3(1) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). At the Koptevskiy District Court in Moscow, his trial will start tomorrow, June 8, 2023.
When Orlov titled his article “They wanted fascism, they got it,” he likely foresaw the consequences but stood unwavering. In an online article published on the French-based blogging platform Le Club de Mediapart in 2022, he wrote vehemently – in his capacity as co-chair of HRDC Memorial – about Russia’s totalitarian spiral.
In February 2022, he came out to protest the war in Ukraine five times—every time, he was detained, put on trial and fined.
Meanwhile, in 2007, In Ingushetia, he was kidnapped, beaten and faced death threats. The kidnappers demanded that he no longer appear in public.
Due to his contribution, the memorial received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022.
Nevertheless, it is being steadfastly and boldly carried out by the hands of noble individuals battling for peace and human rights.
His well-wishers on YouTube and other social media urged the people to support Oleg Orlov, asking, “Don’t stay silent. Sign a letter in support of Oleg Orlov. Do not let the court make a shameful and cruel decision.”
