A Moscow district court has sentenced Russian activist Konstantin Kotov to four years in prison.
Kotov is well known for his protests in support of Ukrainian political prisoners held in Russia, particularly Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for “terrorism,” and Crimean activist Volodymyr Balukh, sentenced in Russian-occupied Crimea to three years for “insulting the Russian government.”
With his Sept. 5 court verdict, Kotov became the second activist to be convicted under a new article of the Russian criminal code, introduced in 2014, that allows activists to face prosecution for participating or expressing the intention to participate in street protests.
The article notes that, after two non-criminal penalties for unauthorized protests in less than 180 days, the defendant can then receive up to five years in prison.
The unauthorized protests in which Kotov took part were in support of Azat Miftakhov, a Russian math student facing questionable terrorism charges, members of a Telegram messenger chat accused by Russian prosecutors of planning to overthrow the Russian government, and Russian investigative journalist Ivan Golunov, who was accused of selling drugs.
After multiple street protests against Golunov’s case, he was eventually released and charges against him were dropped. Russian officials even admitted that law enforcement had violated the law.
Kotov also took part in one-man protests against the politically motivated detention of Ukrainians in Crimea, including Sentsov and Balukh. He also protested on Red Square holding a sign condemning the detention and deportation of Crimean Tatars by Russian occupation authorities.
Kotov was arrested on Aug. 10, the same day a protest took place in Moscow calling for democratic local elections. A video by TV Rain, a Russian opposition streaming channel, showed that Kotov exited the subway and was promptly arrested by the Russian police.
“He could not help but protest for those people who he thought needed help,” said Maria Eismont, Kotov’s lawyer, in a Sept. 5 statement in court.
Human Rights activists, including the Moscow Helsinki Group, have condemned the politically motivated conviction of Kotov.
“Four years for NOTHING,” wrote businessman and former political prisoner Mikhail Khodorkovsky after Kotov received his sentence.
