At a Moscow city council meeting in March 2022, city councilor and human rights defender Aleksei Gorinov urged that the meeting begin with a moment of silence to remember the children and other victims who were dying in Russia’s war against Ukraine. A few weeks later, Gorinov became the first person arrested under Russia’s war censorship laws. For one thing, he was accused of calling Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “war” instead of “a special military operation.”
In July 2022, Alexei was convicted of spreading false information about the Russian army. Russian judge Olesya Mendeleeva sentenced Gorinov to seven years in prison.
On December 31, the United States imposed sanctions on Olesya Mendeleeva for her role in the arbitrary detention of Alexei Gorinov. Mandeleeva was designated under the Global Magnitsky sanctions program, which targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world.
In a statement announcing the sanctions, the U.S. Department of the Treasury noted that during Gorinov’s trial, Mendeleeva, who is known for her long and harsh sentences, “refused to consider the defense witnesses’ testimonies and reasoned that Gorinov’s ‘reformation’ would be impossible without imprisonment.” The Treasury Department also observed that Alexei Gorinov has suffered physical abuse and denial of medical treatment in detention.
“Russia’s manipulation of its legal system silences dissent and suffocates the truth about Russia’s indefensible war against Ukraine,” said U.S. Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley Smith in a statement.
In a separate statement, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller declared, “The United States stands in solidarity with the Russian people, who face threats, violence, reprisal, and imprisonment from Russian Federation authorities for exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms in their own country. We call for Gorinov’s immediate and unconditional release and the release of all others whom the Russian Federation has arbitrarily detained. We remain committed to promoting accountability for serious human rights abuses in the Russian Federation.”
