Russian activist Oleg Orlov gets 2.5 years in jail for criticising Ukraine war

Oleg Orlov, 70, co-chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights group Memorial, had rejected the case against him as politically motivated

Associated Press reported that a  veteran human rights campaigner who criticised the war in Ukraine was convicted Tuesday by a Moscow court of “repeatedly discrediting” the Russian military and sentenced to 2½ years in prison.

Oleg Orlov, 70, co-chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights group Memorial, had rejected the case against him as politically motivated, saying in his closing statement: “I don’t regret anything and I don’t repent anything." He also denounced the war again.

In a statement, Memorial called Orlov's sentence “an attempt to drown out the voice of the human rights movement in Russia and any criticism of the state.” It vowed to continue its work.