In Russia, the number of sentences for “fakes” increased by one and a half times

In 2023, the number of convictions under the so-called fakes about the Russian army increased by a third, and the number of cases of treason – almost four times compared to the same period in 2022. In 2023, the courts for the first time began to set real deadlines in cases of the so-called discrediting of the Russian army. This is reported by Kommersant.

According to the publication, in the first half of 2023, 21 people were sentenced for “fakes”: eight received actual terms, three received conditional terms, ten more were fined. In 2022, the courts sentenced 14 people under the same article, two of them received actual terms.

In 2023, the courts for the first time imposed real terms on the criminal article of discrediting the Russian army: two of the 15 defendants received terms in the colonies. In 2022, under this article, only three defendants were charged, and the maximum penalty was a fine.

Experts polled by “Kommersant” predict a further increase in sentences for “fakes” and “discrediting”, since the court is considering more than 200 cases under these two articles.

In the first six months of 2023, the courts handed down 15 sentences in cases of high treason (all terms are real), although in the first half of 2022 there were 4 such sentences (in one case the court handed down a conditional term). The number of cases on the justification of terrorism increased from 126 to 167 per hour, the publication writes with reference to the statistics of the judicial department of the Supreme Court.

At the same time, the intensity of those prosecuted under the administrative article on discrediting the Russian army decreased: 4,440 protocols in 2022 against 1,308 in the first half of 2023.

Experts explain this as a “preemptive” effect of the law: people have become less likely to express themselves in public.

In addition, the number of cases of public calls for violent constitutional change decreased: 161 cases in the first half of 2023 compared to 149 in the same period of 2022.

• Administrative and criminal articles about the so-called fakes about the Russian army were added by the State Duma to the Russian legislature shortly after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The courts recognize as discrediting the communication of any position on the war in Ukraine that contradicts Moscow’s official point of view.
• Russian courts have already handed down dozens of verdicts in cases of so-called “fakes about the army”. Politician Ilya Yashin received the maximum term – eight and a half years in the colony. As a rule, sentences were handed down in connection with statements about the murders of Ukrainian civilians by the Russian military in Buche or Mariupol. There are no acquittals based on this article.

• UN experts note a sharp increase in the number of criminal cases on charges of espionage and treason in Russia in 2023. If last year 24 cases were initiated under the article of embezzlement and 16 people were convicted, then in the first six months of 2023 at least 43 suspects were charged with embezzlement.