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The Meshchansky District Court of Moscow has sentenced blogger Ilya Varlamov in absentia to eight years in prison for spreading “fake news” about the Russian Armed Forces out of political hatred (subparagraph “d” of part 2, article 207.3 of the Criminal Code) and for evading the duties of a “foreign agent” (part 2, article 330.1 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by SOTAvision.
In addition, Varlamov was fined 99.5 million roubles (approximately US$1.1 million) and handed a four-year ban on administering websites.
The prosecution had requested exactly this punishment during the closing arguments on 13 August.
The case over so-called military “fakes” was brought against Varlamov because of his statements about the shelling of residential buildings in Kryvyi Rih and Odesa, made in a video published in November 2023 titled: “Sanctions failed: fridges, the shadow front and other Russian tricks. China, USA and Putin.”
The blogger said in the video: “Open talk in the West about Russia successfully circumventing sanctions began after the bombings of Kryvyi Rih and Odesa. On 13 June 2023, a Russian missile struck a residential building, killing 13 people and injuring another 36; the next day, another missile strike hit Odesa. This time, there were no fatalities, but schools, residential complexes and shops in the city centre suffered serious damage.”
The case against Varlamov for evading “foreign agent” duties became known in November last year. According to the prosecution, Varlamov had been held administratively liable twice in the space of a year for similar violations (part 4, article 19.34 of the Administrative Code) because of posts without the “foreign agent” disclaimer.
Varlamov commented on the criminal proceedings: “I do not regret what I’ve done. I am not going to add the bloody label (disclaimer that I am a foreign agent). I consider the foreign agent law unconstitutional; its only purpose is political repression and censorship.”
The blogger has not lived in Russia for several years.