An activist with cancer was sentenced to 7.5 years in the case of “fakes”

A court in Kaliningrad sentenced 64-year-old activist Igor Baryshnikov to 7.5 years in prison in the case of so-called fakes about the Russian army. This was reported to Sever.Realia by lawyer Maria Bonzler. Baryshnikov has been diagnosed with cancer, and his 96-year-old mother is an invalid.

Earlier, the prosecutor requested 8 years of imprisonment for Baryshnikov.

After the start of the war in Ukraine, Igor Baryshnikov posted critical posts about the war in Ukraine and the current government on his Facebook page. He wrote about the bombed-out maternity hospital in Mariupol, about the murders of Bucha residents, and also published links to foreign media articles. On May 5, Baryshnikov was charged with the first case in the Kaliningrad region under the article “public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Russian Armed Forces” – so-called fakes about the army. Then they took a subscription not to leave from him. Another “fakes” case was subsequently opened against Baryshnikov, and they were combined into one case.

“The case against me is political. Fabricated by the FSB. I am accused of committing a serious crime. At the same time, I did not kill anyone, I did not rob anyone, I did not rape, I did not steal anything from anyone. The session is closed, which I perceive as a political massacre, the case is fabricated and falsified according to the patterns of 37” – said Baryshnikov in his last words (he is published by Sever.Realii with abbreviations). He also noted that the materials of the forensic medical examination confirm that he cannot be sentenced to imprisonment.

The court took into account Baryshnikov’s state of health when passing the sentence, the press service of the Kaliningrad Regional Court reports.

• Igor Baryshnikov is a well-known Kaliningrad activist, he participated in street protests and was arrested several times. After the start of the war in Ukraine, five administrative protocols were drawn up against the activist on the so-called discrediting of the Russian army, as well as on insulting the authorities. According to Baryshnikov, these cases were initiated because of his posts about military actions in Ukraine, as well as because of his emotional statement about President Vladimir Putin.