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During closing arguments at the 2nd Western District Military Court, the prosecutor requested an 18-year sentence in a high-security penal colony for writer Boris Akunin, who is accused of justifying terrorism (Part 2, Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code), facilitating terrorism (Part 1, Article 205.1), and failing to fulfil the obligations of a “foreign agent” (Part 2, Article 330.1). This was reported by Mediazona.
The state prosecutor, Natalya Makarova, also asked for the writer to be fined 400,000 roubles (about US$4,500) and banned from administering websites for five years.
Akunin’s lawyer in court requested an acquittal, Mediazona writes.
The writer himself said on Facebook that he did not authorise any lawyer to represent him at the court: “I have not authorised any lawyer to represent me at what they call their court and am not taking part in this farce in any way at all.” Apparently, a court-appointed lawyer is acting on his behalf.
The justification of terrorism charge is linked to a post by Akunin published in February 2024, in which he considered how to rid the country of dictatorship:
“For a long time I was an evolutionist, but now I am for revolution, because there is simply no other way to get rid of dictatorship. There are no elections and there won’t be. Opponents of the regime are killed or left to rot in prison. Yes, revolution is an explosion. But sometimes in history there are blockages that can only be cleared by an explosion.”
The charge of facilitating terrorism relates to a conversation with pro-Kremlin pranksters Vovan and Lexus, who called Akunin pretending to be Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Ukraine’s Minister of Culture. This conversation was published in December 2023. During the call, Akunin called for Russian and Ukrainian cultural figures to unite to win “in minds and hearts,” not on the battlefield, and suggested stepping up efforts to encourage Russian soldiers to surrender and join the Ukrainian side. He also stated that he was raising money to support Ukraine.
A charge under the “foreign agent” article was brought after two decisions came into force regarding administrative offences for violations of “foreign agent” legislation (Article 19.34 of the Administrative Code). The writer was added to the register in January 2024.
An elderly woman, Natalya Kopylova, testified for the prosecution in court; she had learned about the writer’s statements from TV shows hosted by propagandist Vladimir Solovyov.
In December 2023, the Investigative Committee reported that a case had been opened against Akunin for justifying terrorism and spreading “fakes” about the Russian military (Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). However, the case went to court without the “fakes” allegation.
Akunin has not lived in Russia since 2014. He has repeatedly spoken out against the invasion of Ukraine.
16:14 The 2nd Western District Military Court has sentenced Boris Akunin to 14 years in a penal colony. This was reported by Vot Tak.
The writer was also fined 400,000 roubles (about US$4,500) and banned from administering websites for four years.
The headline has been updated following the verdict in Boris Akunin’s case.