The head of “Free Buryatia” was sentenced in absentia to 7 years in the case of “fakes”

The Soviet District Court of Ulan-Ude sentenced in absentia the journalist and head of the Svobodnaya Buryatia Foundation “Free Buryatia” Aleksandra Harmazhapova to seven years in a penal colony in the case of “fakes” about the Russian army, “Setvye svobody” reports. The activist lives abroad.

A criminal case was opened against Harmazhapova in September 2023 due to her interview with the Ukrainian project “Money”. In it, she told about Russian military deserters forcibly detained in the so-called “LPR”. The activist’s conversation with journalists took place in July last year. Then Harmazhapova claimed that 17 servicemen were locked up in the commandant’s office in the occupied territory because of their refusal to go to the front line.

The head of the fund noted that the contractors submitted reports about the termination of the contract due to unwillingness to continue fighting, but they refused to consider them. The military also turned to “Free Buryatia” for help, since among them were natives of Buryatia and Tyva. As Harmazhapova stated on the air of the TV channel “Dozhd”, the investigation considered her statement about the fear of these soldiers to be “sent to the front line without equipment and shot” as “negative information”. In addition, the remark about the Buryats, whom the authorities allegedly sent to war “as an insignificant people”, was considered a “fake”.

• On September 1, 2023, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia recognized the anti-war foundation “Free Buryatia” as an undesirable organization on the territory of the country. The reason for this was called the “anti-Russian actions” fund organization. In March, the fund was included in the register of “foreign agents” for, according to the Ministry of Justice, calling for actions that “may lead to a violation of the territorial integrity” of Russia. According to the Ministry of Justice, the organization distributed materials of “foreign agents” and “fakes about the activities of Russian authorities.” Roskomnadzor previously blocked the website of “Free Buryatia”. Aleksandra Harmazhapov was also personally recognized as a “foreign agent”.
• “Free Buryatia” criticizes Russia’s war in Ukraine, helps servicemen from Buryatia to defend their rights and return from the war zone. The Fund also advocates the so-called decolonization of Russia, meaning decentralization of power and ensuring the rights of all peoples living in Russia.