The charge called for almost 5 years in prison for Strelkov

The prosecution requested a sentence of 4 years and 11 months in the general regime prison for the former commander of the “DNR” separatists, FSB reserve colonel Ihor Strelkov (Gyrkin) in the case of calls to extremism. This is reported by Strelkov’s Telegram channel with reference to the lawyer’s ego. The case is being heard in the Bogorod Court of Moscow in closed session. The arguments of the parties are taking place today.

It is noted that the requested term is close to the maximum punishment under the Strelkov article – 5 years of imprisonment.

Igor Strelkov, who criticized the Russian authorities and the course of the war in Ukraine from a radically anti-Ukrainian position, was detained in July last year. Since then, he has been in a pre-trial detention center in Moscow. It is reported that he was accused of calling for extremism because of two posts in the Telegram channel. One of them contained the phrase “It’s not enough to shoot for this” – it was about officials who, in Strelkov’s opinion, prevent monetary payments to war participants. The investigation saw in her a call to extremism.

While behind bars, Strelkov announced his candidacy for the presidency of Russia, but his supporters failed to hold a meeting to nominate his candidacy. It is confirmed that not a single notary agreed to attend it.

In 2014, Strelkov led a detachment of Russian citizens who, with the support of local separatists, captured the city of Slavyansk in the Donetsk region of Ukraine – from that moment, hostilities in Donbas actually began. Later, he fell into disgrace with the Russian authorities. Strelkov complained that he was not allowed to go to the front even after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In November 2022, a court in The Hague sentenced Strelkov to life imprisonment in absentia, finding him guilty of complicity in the crash of the Malaysian Boeing in the sky over the Donbass. Strelkov denied guilt, constantly repeating the phrase: “The militia did not shoot down the Boeing” and not saying who, in his opinion, shot it down (the court found that the plane was shot down from the Buk installation belonging to the Russian army, official Moscow denies this ).