The prosecution has requested an eight-year prison sentence and a fine of 99 million roubles (US$1.1 million) in absentia for Ilya Varlamov, who spoke out against the war.

At the closing arguments in Moscow’s Meshchansky District Court, the prosecution has requested that “foreign agent” blogger Ilya Varlamov be sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison and a fine of 99 million roubles (US$1.1 million). This was reported by RIA Novosti.

Varlamov is charged under articles relating to the spreading of “fake news” about the Russian Armed Forces motivated by political hatred (paragraph “d” part 2 article 207.3 of the Criminal Code) and for failing to fulfil the obligations of a “foreign agent” (part 2 article 330.1 of the Criminal Code). The blogger himself has been living abroad for several years; in Russia, he has been taken into custody in absentia.

The criminal case for military “fake news” was brought against Varlamov because of his comments about the shelling of residential buildings in Kryvyi Rih and Odesa. These remarks were made in a video by Varlamov published in November 2023, titled “Sanctions have failed: fridges, the shadow front, and other Russian tricks. China, the US and Putin.”

“The fact that the Russians bypass sanctions with ease in the West was openly discussed after the bombings of Kryvyi Rih and Odesa. On 13 June 2023, as a result of a Russian missile hitting a residential building, 13 people were killed and another 36 injured. The next day there was another missile strike, this time in Odesa. On this occasion, there were no casualties, but schools, residential complexes, and shops in the city centre were seriously damaged,” said the blogger in the video.

The case for failing to comply with “foreign agent” obligations became known as early as November last year. According to the prosecutor’s office, Varlamov was twice prosecuted in one year under a similar administrative article (part 4 article 19.34 of the Code of Administrative Offences) for posts without the required “foreign agent” disclaimer.

“I do not regret my actions, I do not intend to put this label (the disclaimer stating that I am a foreign agent). I consider the ‘foreign agent’ law unconstitutional; its only purpose is political repression and censorship,” commented Varlamov on the initiation of the case.

In early July, it was reported that the criminal case under both articles had been approved by the prosecutor’s office and then sent to court.

• The Ministry of Justice added Varlamov to the “foreign agent” register on 23 March 2023. The agency justified the decision by claiming he spread “false information about decisions made by public authorities and their policies.”
• In February this year, after fines totalling 110,000 roubles (US$1,200) over the absence of the “foreign agent” label, a court imposed an arrest on Varlamov’s bank accounts.