A Kemerovo activist was given 7 years in prison for a video about the war in Ukraine

The court in Kiselyovsk, Kemerovo region, sentenced local activist Bulat Shumekov to seven years in prison for publishing a video about the war in Ukraine. This was reported by the Kuzbass without extremism Telegram channel, which is considered to be connected to law enforcement agencies.

The case against Shumekov based on the article about fakes about the Russian army was opened in April. Later, the charges were toughened, imputed to him as a motive of hatred or enmity, according to the case report.

According to the investigation, Shumekov created and distributed “fake” videos on the Internet. The Russian authorities call any information about the war that contradicts the official reports of the Ministry of Defense a fake.

According to “OVD-Info”, in the spring of 2022, Shumekov was fined three times for an article about the discrediting of the Russian army: for a single picket with a “No war” poster, for a post calling not to participate in a pro-war concert, and for an anti-war poster hung in the window of his apartment . The amount of fines was 90 thousand rubles.

In addition, Shumekov was arrested for ten days in March for participating in actions against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and in April for five days for announcing an anti-war rally. He was also fined for displaying extremist symbols and disrespecting the authorities.

The project “Support of political prisoners. Memorial” recognized Shumekov as a political prisoner.

• An article about fakes about the Russian army was added to the Criminal Code of Russia shortly after the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Violation of the article is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. According to human rights activists, this article actually introduced military censorship in Russia.
• The administrative article on the discrediting of the Russian army appeared shortly after its invasion of Ukraine. Discreditation in Russia is considered, for example, to use the word “war” instead of “special military operation” in relation to the war in Ukraine. The article provides for a fine of up to 50,000 rubles, and for repeated violations, a criminal case with a penalty of up to five years in prison is threatened.