In the Russian Federation, criminal cases have been initiated against at least 902 citizens for anti-war statements. This practice has been recorded in all regions except Chechnya, Karachay-Cherkessia, as well as the Nenets Autonomous Okrug and Bryansk Region, according to OVD-Info.
Most often, Russians are prosecuted under articles of “fakes” (public dissemination of deliberately false socially significant information) (285 people), “discrediting” the RF Armed Forces (172 people) and justification of terrorism (175 people). The largest number of cases were filed in Moscow (159), St. Petersburg (77) and the Sverdlovsk region (29).
Over 260 people are deprived of their liberty and are being held in colonies or pre-trial detention centers. Approximately the same number of convicts are outside Russia: sentences and preventive measures were handed down to them in absentia.
