Russian Journalist Sentenced To Eight Years Over Ukraine War Reporting

A Russian journalist was sentenced to eight years in prison after his paper reported on Russia’s attacks on civilians in Ukraine. A human rights group has confirmed that journalist Sergei Mikhailov was convicted for “spreading false information” about the Russian army that was motivated by “political hatred.”

The court also imposed a four-year ban on the reporter’s journalistic and publishing activities, reported Al Jazeera. The 48-year-old journalist, working for a local newspaper, Listok, was arrested in 2022 in Moscow. He was arrested for a series of posts on social media about Russia’s attacks on civilians in Ukraine's Mariupol and Bucha. Notably, the journalist was arrested soon after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Under a new law adopted days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, it has become criminal offense in Russia to criticize the war. OVD-Info, one of Russia’s leading rights groups, reportedly stated that over 1,000 people have been implicated in criminal cases over their anti-war stance since 2022.