Kremlin Critic Alexei Gorinov Convicted Again, Sentenced To Additional Three Years For Opposing War In Ukraine

After a swift three-day trial, a court in Russia’s Vladimir region ruled that Gorinov would serve a total of five years in a maximum-security prison, stricter than his current facility.

Imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Gorinov was handed an additional three-year prison sentence on Friday for his opposition to Russia's war in Ukraine, highlighting Moscow's zero tolerance for dissent. The 63-year-old former Moscow municipal council member is already serving a seven-year sentence for publicly criticising the invasion.

After a swift three-day trial, a court in Russia’s Vladimir region ruled that Gorinov would serve a total of five years in a maximum-security prison, stricter than his current facility. This effectively extends his imprisonment by one year, according to his lawyer, as quoted by the independent news outlet Mediazona.

Gorinov was first convicted in July 2022, receiving a seven-year sentence for “spreading false information” about the Russian military during a municipal council meeting. He had allegedly questioned the appropriateness of hosting a children’s art contest amid the war, noting that “children are dying every day” in Ukraine. His conviction marked the first known case under a 2022 law banning public statements that contradict the official narrative of the Kremlin on the war.

In written comments to The Associated Press in March 2023, Gorinov described his conviction as a warning to ordinary citizens, suggesting authorities wanted to make an example of him rather than a prominent figure.

The second case against Gorinov accused him of “justifying terrorism” based on conversations with his cellmates regarding Ukraine’s Azov battalion, labelled a terrorist organisation by Russia, and the 2022 Crimean bridge explosion, which Moscow classified as a terrorist act. His new sentence underscored the Kremlin's continued crackdown on dissent as the war in Ukraine drags on.

Alexei Gorinov Denies Allegation

Alexei Gorinov strongly denied the allegations against him during his trial on Wednesday, according to independent news outlet Mediazona. He stated to the court that his statements were limited to describing Crimea as part of Ukraine and identifying the Azov regiment as a unit within the Ukrainian army.

The trial of Gorinov began on Wednesday in the Vladimir region where Gorinov is serving his previous sentence, featuring courtroom images showing him in the defendant’s cage, visibly frail. A hand-drawn peace symbol on paper covered his prison badge, and he held a sign reading, “Stop killing. Let’s stop the war.”

Gorinov, who had part of a lung removed before his imprisonment, has faced ongoing respiratory health challenges while incarcerated. Despite this, he delivered a defiant closing statement in court on Friday, reiterating his condemnation of Russian authorities for the war in Ukraine.

“My guilt is that I, as a citizen of my country, allowed this war to happen and could not stop it,” Mediazona quoted him as saying.

“But I would like my guilt and responsibility to be shared with me by the organizers, participants, supporters of the war, as well as the persecutors of those who advocate peace. I continue to live with the hope that this will happen someday. In the meantime, I ask those who live in Ukraine and my fellow citizens who suffered from the war to forgive me,” Gorinov said.

According to OVD-Info, a leading rights organisation monitoring political arrests, approximately 1,100 individuals have faced criminal charges for their anti-war views since February 2022. Of these, 340 are either imprisoned or involuntarily confined to medical facilities.