A Moscow military court — which was convened in the Supreme Court of northwestern Russia’s republic of Komi — ordered the release of socialist and anti-war activist Boris Kagarlitsky on December 12.
Kagarlitsky had been in custody since being detained in July on charges of “justifying terrorism”, over comments he made in a since-deleted YouTube video and on his Telegram channel in October 2022 regarding the bombing of the Crimea Bridge.
After a speedy trial that lasted just two days, the court found Kagarlitsky guilty but only required him to pay a fine of ₽600,000 (about US$6600). The former editor of Rabkor (Worker Correspondent), an online leftist media platform, has also been banned from editing any media outlet or webpage for two years.
The prosecution had been seeking a jail term of five and a half years.
Responding to the verdict, the internationally renowned Marxist sociologist told the SOTA Telegram channel that his lenient punishment was due to him being more well-known than other defendants facing similar charges.
“Unfortunately, if this happens in some small town, in a local court, with local law enforcement officers, your fate will be much worse because nobody gets to hear about the case.”
Following Kagarlitsky’s arrest, a broad international solidarity movement developed calling for his freedom and the release of all political prisoners in Russia.
Russian anti-war website Posle responded to the outcome on its Telegram channel: “Today's release of Boris Kagarlitsky is further proof of the benefits of solidarity campaigns and public participation.
“Many people around the world, from passersby in Paris to [Brazilian president] Lula da Silva, expressed their support for Kagarlitsky, signed numerous petitions, participated in pickets at embassies and called on opinion leaders to speak out.
“We cannot be sure that it was because of these actions that Boris’s real sentence was replaced with a fine, but we can say one thing for sure — these actions do not in any way interfere with the political prisoners themselves and quite a lot support them.
“We would like today to serve as a reminder of how necessary it is to remember and support those repressed by the [Russian] regime. Only solidarity with each other can help us maintain strength in these difficult times and see a future for everyone.”
The following day, Left Bloc activist Lev Skoryakin was also released from pre-trial detention, where he had been held since being abducted from a Kyrgyz jail and forcibly transferred to Russia on October 18.
Skoryakin had fled to Kyrgyzstan last year to seek asylum after finding out Russian authorities were seeking his arrest. The anarchist activist had been granted humanitarian protection from Germany, and was ready to leave Kyrgyzstan, before his detainment and subsequent abduction.
Skoryakin was found guilty of "hooliganism", but only given a fine of ₽500,000.