WARSAW: Russia has launched more than 10,000 cases against people accused of “discrediting” the army since its invasion of Ukraine, the Mediazona website, which monitors the courts, reported Wednesday.
Legislation passed soon after Russia’s February 2022 offensive punishes public acts or statements seen as critical of the Russian armed forces. Thousands of people have been detained as a result.
“The 10,000th case was submitted to court in the first week of August,” the website said.
Most cases came in the first months of the war, with the total number of charges reaching 5,614 by the end of 2022, Mediazona wrote. This year so far there have been at least 1,410 cases.
Individuals found guilty of an initial offense face a fine of up to 50,000 rubles ($566).
But those who face a repeat charge within a year are criminalized and risk a prison sentence of up to five years, or seven years if their actions led to injuries or death or mass public order offenses.
According to the monitor OVD-Info, 200 people have been indicted for a repeat offense, although some of these have left the country.
In February, Memorial rights activist Oleg Orlov was found guilty of discrediting the army as a repeat offense and sentenced to two and half years in prison.
This came after he spoke out against the military campaign and the Kremlin.
The 71-year-old was freed in an international prisoner exchange in July and flew to Germany.
Russia has waged an unprecedented crackdown on dissent since launching its military campaign against Ukraine.
Memorial has drawn up a list of 762 political prisoners in Russia.