Law enforcers institute criminal case against Oleg Orlov on discrediting Russian army

A criminal case on the repeated discrediting of the Russian Armed Forces was instituted against Oleg Orlov, the co-chair of the Human Rights Protection Centre “Memorial”, who was detained in the case on the rehabilitation of Nazism.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that today, employees of the Human Rights Protection Centre “Memorial”, as well as the liquidated “International Memorial”* and the Human Rights Centre (HRC) “Memorial”* have been detained after searches in the case on the rehabilitation of Nazism.

On March 6, 2022, in Moscow, the police detained Oleg Orlov, who had come out to Manezhnaya Square with a poster in his hands. The court sentenced the activist to a fine for violating the order of picketing. Oleg Orlov was also detained on the square near the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on March 20, 2022, when the human rights defender was holding in his hands a poster criticizing President Vladimir Putin. On March 30, 2022, the court sentenced Oleg Orlov to a fine for discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, but the human rights defender did not agree with the interpretation of his actions. On April 10, 2022, the police detained Oleg Orlov on Red Square, when he came out to hold a solo picket with a poster in his hands announcing a call to know the truth and not be silent. On April 29, 2022, Oleg Orlov and Irina Galkova, a former employee of the “International Memorial”*, were detained on Red Square during pickets. On May 12, 2022, the activists were fined for violating the rules for holding pickets and discrediting the Russian Armed Forces.

*The organization was included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in the register of NCOs, performing the functions of a foreign agent, and was liquidated by a court’s decision.