This translation was made by AI

After a new hearing in the case of Buddhist and programmer Ilya Vasiliev (Arvi Hacker), the Preobrazhensky District Court of Moscow has sentenced him to six years in a general regime penal colony.

He has also been banned from administering websites for three and a half years.

Vasiliev was once again found guilty of spreading “fake news” about the Russian army motivated by hatred (Article 207.3, Part 2, Point “d” of the Russian Criminal Code).

The prosecutor had requested an eight-year sentence.

“What is he supposed to realise during this time? Never call for peace again? I am sure that this article will be repealed one day as it is unconstitutional,” Vasiliev’s lawyer said during the closing arguments.

In June 2025, the programmer was sentenced in the same case to eight years’ imprisonment. In October, this judgement was overturned. The Moscow City Court ruled that the first instance court had violated Vasiliev’s right to a defence: the court had refused to allow his defender to take part in the process, as she did not have a legal education. As a result, the case was sent back for a new hearing.

  • The case against Vasiliev was opened because of two Facebook posts in English. One was about Vladimir Putin’s refusal of a Christmas truce in 2022, and the other about the shelling of Dnipro in January 2023. Only the first publication remained in the final charges.
  • While in pre-trial detention, the programmer faced various forms of pressure: he was denied medical care, not all of his letters were delivered, and in February 2025, Vasiliev was placed in solitary confinement for 15 days.