A Moscow court sentenced a Colombian citizen to five years and two months in prison for “discrediting the armed forces of Russia,” the DPA agency reported on Tuesday, citing Agerpres.
The Colombian will serve his sentence in a general-type prison in Russia. Since Russia launched a war against Ukraine last February, this is the first known case of a foreign national being convicted of defaming the Russian military.
He was accused of hiding mobile phones in a shopping center last year, which were then used to spread “false mass messages about the actions of the armed forces of the Russian Federation, including the killing of civilians.”
According to the Russian prosecutor’s office, the Colombian citizen worked for a foreign organization connected to the US State Department and also received money from it.
Russian authorities have imposed strict rules on the presentation of “military special operations” and in March introduced harsh penalties for “slandering” and “discrediting” the Russian military into the criminal code, which can lead to up to 15 years in prison.
Several people who opposed the war have already been convicted on charges of discrediting the army.
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Source: Hot News
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