Two Russian soldiers, Ilya Karpenko from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Valery Kotovych from Rostov-on-Don, are under investigation for “discrediting the Russian army”, said the head of the human rights organization “Agora”, Pavlo Chikov, quoted by Meduza.

According to his information, these are the first cases when servicemen are accused of discrediting the Russian army, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The details of the actions of the two soldiers have not been released, but one of them has been arrested and two criminal cases are pending in military courts.

Six months after the change of the Criminal Code in Russia, with the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the number of suspects, accused and convicted persons who “discredit” the Russian army and “spread false information” has reached 100 people. says Pavlo Chikov, head of the human rights organization “Agora”.

“More than half of the defendants, 57 people, are accused under the second part of Article 207.3, which belongs to the category of serious crimes and provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of 5 to 10 years. Another 24 – under part 1, that is, of minor severity – up to three years deprivation of liberty,” said the human rights defender.

At the same time, according to him, 32 accused of “discrediting the Russian army” are not in Russia, another 28 are in pretrial detention centers, six more are prohibited from engaging in certain activities, three more are under house arrest.

Courts handed down verdicts in nine criminal cases regarding “falsifications” about the Russian military.

Several people are accused of “spreading false information” about the military

Since the Kremlin’s offensive in late February, the slightest criticism of the operation can lead to large fines or serious legal proceedings. On July 8, Moscow deputy Oleksiy Horinov was sentenced to seven years in prison for exposing the Russian attack on Ukraine.

Eduard Shcherbakov was sentenced to six months in prison.

Yekaterinburg’s former mayor Yevhen Roizman was detained for “discrediting” the Russian armed forces, but avoided house arrest, instead he will be banned from participating in public events and using the Internet for five weeks, Interfax reports, Reuters reports.