The Russian authorities included Oleg Orlov, a veteran human rights defender and laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize from the non-governmental organization “Memorial”, on the infamous list of “foreign agents”, according to AFP.

Hundreds of individuals, human rights defenders, opponents and independent journalists have been added to this list in recent years and are subject to strict administrative restrictions and are required to identify themselves as such in all public communications.

The Ministry of Justice of Russia stated that Oleg Orlov “opposed the conduct of a military special operation in Ukraine, disseminated unreliable information about the decisions of the state authorities of the Russian Federation and participated in the creation of messages and texts for foreign agents.”

Orlov, 70, is also being prosecuted for “discrediting” the Russian military under one of the new laws used by the Russian government to silence dissent since its offensive in Ukraine began in February 2022.

Last year he was sentenced to a simple fine, in December the sentence was overturned and the case was returned to the prosecutor’s office, opening the way for a new trial where he could face up to 3 years in prison.

Active since the 1970s, Oleg Orlov became one of the pillars of “Memorial”, the main organization that fights in Russia to preserve the memory of Soviet repressions and documents the repressions of President Vladimir Putin in Russia.

The NGO was dissolved at the end of 2021 by Russian justice, but later won the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.