Russia: Oleg Orlov’s appeal rejected

The Observatory has been informed about the rejection of the appeal of human rights defender Oleg Orlov, ex-co-chair of Memorial Human Rights Defence Center (HRDC “Memorial”), a member organisation of FIDH. A prominent figure in the defence of human rights in Russia, Mr Orlov was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Expression in 2009, and in 2012 the Moscow Helsinki Group Award for his "historic contribution to the defence of human rights and the human rights movement”. On July 9, 2024, the Paris City Council decided to make Oleg Orlov an honorary citizen of Paris.

On July 11, 2024, the Moscow City Court rejected Oleg Orlov’s appeal against the two years and six months of imprisonment in a correctional colony of the general regime sentence imposed on him by the Golovinsky District Court of Moscow on February 27, 2024, on politically motivated charges of “repeatedly discrediting” Russia’s armed forces, bringing the verdict into force immediately. Mr Orlov’s defence is planning to lodge a cassation appeal.

Due to his illegal transfer to the pre-trial detention centre in Syzran, 900 kilometres from Moscow, on April 12, 2024, Mr Orlov had to attend the appeal hearing via video link. This violates his right to defence, as private consultations with his lawyer were impossible. Additionally, Mr Orlov began to lose his hearing in the pre-trial detention centre, which prevented him from fully participating in the proceedings.

The Observatory recalls that, on October 11, 2023, the Golovinsky District Court of Moscow found Oleg Orlov guilty of “public actions aimed at discrediting the use of armed forces of the Russian Federation” (Article 280.3 (1) of the Criminal Code) and fined him 150,000 roubles (approximately 1,409 Euros). This decision results from the criminal proceedings opened on March 21, 2023 by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, following Mr Orlov’s article titled “Russia: they wanted fascism, they got it” (“Russie : ils voulaient le fascisme, ils l’ont eu”) and published on the French blogging platform Le Club de Mediapart on November 13, 2022.

Oleg Orlov filed a first appeal against this decision of the Golovinskiy Distict Court, demanding acquittal. The prosecutor's office also filed an appeal demanding three years' imprisonment for Mr Orlov. On December 14, 2023, the Moscow City Court examined both appeals and decided to return the case to the Investigative Committee.

After further investigation, the case was returned to the Golovinsky District Court of Moscow, within a particularly short time frame. Mr Orlov and his lawyer were given only five days to peruse the seven volumes of the case and prepare a defence. In order to deliver the indictment as quickly as possible, the investigator sent bailiffs armed with automatic rifles to serve the documents to Mr Orlov’s lawyer instead of sending it by mail. This haste in the trial appears to have been prompted by the presidential elections held on March 17, 2024.

On February 27, 2024, the Golovinsky District Court of Moscow sentenced Oleg Orlov to two years and six months of imprisonment in a correctional colony of the general regime on politically motivated charges of “repeatedly discrediting” Russia’s armed forces. The Court retained an aggravating circumstance on the basis that the crime "was committed on the grounds of ideological hostility against the social group 'servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation'" (Article 63 – 1(e) of the Criminal Code). Mr Orlov's defence attorney appealed this decision on March 18, 2024.

The Observatory further recalls that, on February 2, 2024 Oleg Orlov was labelled as a "foreign agent" in person by the Russian Ministry of Justice, after organisation Memorial had been liquidated under the “foreign agent” legislation. This designation compromised his right to a fair trial by preventing him from calling witnesses.

The Observatory strongly condemns the conviction and prison sentence of Oleg Orlov, and calls on the Russian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release him, acquit him and to stop all acts of harassment, including at the administrative and judicial levels, against him and all human rights defenders and organisations in Russia.

The Observatory further calls on the authorities in Russia to guarantee in all circumstances the right to freedom of expression, as enshrined in international human rights standards, and particularly in Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.