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Former municipal deputy Akexei Gorinov, who has been imprisoned since 2022 for condemning Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has spoken in court on the new charges brought against him, reiterating his antiwar stance. The Russian independent publication Mediazona quotes his words in the online broadcast from the hearing:
“I am a convinced internationalist, an opponent of war and violence, which I have repeatedly stated publicly and demonstrated with my entire life. All people are born equal in rights, and I don't judge them by nationality. I have no reason to detest the long-suffering residents of Crimea, Luhansk, and Donetsk regions, who have been deceived in their expectations.
I am far from the ideology of terrorism, and I am not capable of forming it in other people — contrary to the wording of the indictment. I do not see it as appealing, and I don't think it's right. Have a conscience: the investigation has failed to prove my words wrong, Whatever is written there is a bunch of nasty nonsense. As for the Ukrainian organizations Kraken and Right Sector, I have no idea what they are and never spoke about them. The experts added this to their conclusions at their own initiative. In early September 2023, FSB officers came to me twice to Penal Colony IK-2 in Pokrov, asking if I had heard of Kraken. I answered negatively.”
On Jul. 8, 2022, Gorinov was sentenced to seven years in a general security penal colony for “spreading fakes” about the Russian army. Specifically, he had called the “special operation” in Ukraine a war and spoken out about the Ukrainian children who died as a result of the Russian invasion. In September, Gorinov’s original sentence was reduced on appeal —- by one month, down to 6 years and 11 months. However, a new case was brought against him on charges of his supposed justification of terrorism. Allegedly, Gorinov had discussed with other prisoners the explosion on the Kerch Bridge and the activities of the Ukrainian Azov Battalion.
Here is how Gorinov himself describes the new case:
“The case file states in black and white, without providing any evidence, that I:
- am an advocate of nationalist ideology
- have a negative attitude towards the residents of Crimea and Donetsk and Luhansk regions
- support a forcible return of Crimea to Ukraine
- instill the ideology of terrorism, belief in its appeal, and the idea that it is permissible to carry out terrorist activities in my fellow convicts, and declare to these persons that I recognize the ideology and practice of terrorism as correct and deserving support and imitation.
In addition, in the opinion of the investigator, I support the idea of seizing power through a coup d'état.
As the young investigator M. Polezhaev explained, without these phrases, terrorism justification charges would not stand.”
On Feb. 14, 2023, the United Nations called for the immediate release of Gorinov, demanding that the Russian authorities conduct an independent investigation and take action against the people responsible for the illegal persecution and imprisonment of the former municipal deputy.