Kremlin crackdown silences war protests, from benign to bold

A student who held up a banner with no words– simply asterisks.Hundreds of Russians are facing charges for speaking out against the war in Ukraine given that a repressive law was passed last month that outlaws the spread of “false information” about the invasion and disparaging the military.Human rights groups say the crackdown has actually led to criminal prosecutions and possible jail sentences for at least 23 people on the “incorrect details” charge, with over 500 others dealing with misdemeanor charges of disparaging the military that have either led to hefty fines or are expected to result in them. Another was apparently apprehended for holding up a package of sliced up ham from the meat manufacturer Miratorg, with the 2nd half of the name crossed off so it checked out: “Mir”– “peace” in Russian.A law versus spreading out “phony news” about the war or disparaging the military was passed by parliament in one day and took force immediately, efficiently exposing anybody vital of the dispute to fines and jail sentences.The initially openly recognized criminal cases over “phonies” targeted public figures like Veronika Belotserkovskaya, a Russian-language cookbook author and popular blogger living abroad, and Alexander Nevzorov, a Television reporter, movie director and former lawmaker.Both were accused of posting “incorrect info” about Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine on their commonly followed social media pages — something Moscow has emphatically denied, insisting that Russian forces just struck target military targets.But then the scope of the crackdown broadened, with cops apparently getting anyone.Former authorities officer Sergei Klokov was detained and put in pretrial detention after talking about the war with his good friends on the phone. “One woman made a scene over the reality that Im talking about (it) when she just came to pray,” he stated, adding that he thought it was one of those hearing the sermon who reported him to the police.Marat Grachev, director of a shop that repairs Apple products in Moscow, similarly got in difficulty when he showed a link to an online petition entitled, “No to war” on a screen in the shop. Another court ruled versus Moscow trainee Dmitry Reznikov for displaying a blank piece of paper with 8 asterisks, which might have been interpreted as standing for “No to war” in Russian– a popular chant by protesters.

A trainee who held up a banner with no words– simply asterisks.Hundreds of Russians are dealing with charges for speaking out versus the war in Ukraine given that a repressive law was passed last month that forbids the spread of “incorrect info” about the invasion and disparaging the military.Human rights groups say the crackdown has led to criminal prosecutions and possible jail sentences for at least 23 people on the “false details” charge, with over 500 others facing misdemeanor charges of disparaging the military that have either led to hefty fines or are expected to result in them. Another was apparently detained for holding up a package of chopped ham from the meat manufacturer Miratorg, with the second half of the name crossed off so it checked out: “Mir”– “peace” in Russian.A law versus spreading “phony news” about the war or disparaging the armed force was passed by parliament in one day and took force instantly, efficiently exposing anyone important of the dispute to fines and prison sentences.The initially openly recognized criminal cases over “phonies” targeted public figures like Veronika Belotserkovskaya, a Russian-language cookbook author and popular blogger living abroad, and Alexander Nevzorov, a Television reporter, film director and former lawmaker.Both were accused of publishing “incorrect details” about Russian attacks on civilian facilities in Ukraine on their commonly followed social media pages — something Moscow has actually vehemently rejected, insisting that Russian forces just struck target military targets.But then the scope of the crackdown expanded, with police seemingly getting anyone.Former police officer Sergei Klokov was apprehended and put in pretrial detention after going over the war with his buddies on the phone. Another court ruled against Moscow trainee Dmitry Reznikov for displaying a blank piece of paper with eight asterisks, which could have been interpreted as standing for “No to war” in Russian– a popular chant by protesters.