The United States condemns Russia’s unjust sentencing of renowned human rights activist Oleg Orlov.
Orlov is the co-chair of the Nobel Prize-winning organization Memorial, whose mission is documenting the atrocities and repression of the Stalin era and subsequent Soviet rule, as well as promoting and protecting human rights for Russian citizens today. Memorial has been a target of Vladimir Putin’s government for years, resulting in the forced closure of key parts of the organization.
Oleg Orlov was vocal in denouncing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. As a result, in 2023 he was charged with “repeated discrediting of the Russian army,” and a court fined him 150,000 rubles, about $1,600. As U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller observed February 27, Russian authorities, dissatisfied by the punishment, “sought a redo.”
“The outcome? Mr. Orlov was sentenced today to two and a half years in prison simply for peacefully and courageously speaking out against Russia’s war of aggression. [U.S.] Ambassador [Lynn] Tracy joined diplomats from 17 other countries to bear witness to this latest miscarriage of justice in Putin’s Russia, which Orlov aptly described as Kafkaesque,” he said.
Orlov’s sentencing took place just days after the world learned of the death in an arctic prison of Putin’s chief political rival Alexei Navalny, who had been sentenced to thirty years behind bars. The verdict for Orlov, as Mr. Miller pointed out, also fell on the 9th anniversary of the assassination of opposition leader and democracy advocate Boris Nemtsov.
“Like Aleksey Navalny, Nemtsov was a clarion voice for reform and accountability whom Putin targeted for his activism. A former deputy prime minister of Russia, Nemtsov devoted his life to improving the lives of his fellow citizens until he was gunned down in the shadow of the Kremlin,” he said.
Spokesperson Miller noted that Nemtsov’s commitment to democracy continues to be an inspiration to other politicians and rights activists in Russia, “including Nemtsov’s protégé and courageous leader” Vladimir Kara-Murza, now languishing in a Russian prison.
“The United States, strongly condemns the Kremlin’s escalating domestic repression, declared Spokesperson Miller. “Together with our allies and partners, the United States will continue to insist Russian authorities immediately release the more than 680 political prisoners they continue to hold. And we reiterate today our support for Russia’s courageous citizens who continue to work toward a better future for the Russian people.”
