The Moscow City Court sentenced the former so-called “Minister of Defense of the DPR” Igor Strelkov (Girkin) to four years in prison on the charge of public calling for extremist activity.
Igor Strelkov (Girkin), sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment by a court in The Hague, is still unavailable to international justice, but in Russia he received a real sentence. He was given 4 years in prison for calling for extremist activities. What does this mean?
TerRorist – critic of Putin
Strelkov is a former FSB officer who took part in the annexation of Crimea in March 2014, and in April he and his detachment captured the city of Slavyansk, Donetsk region. From May to August 2014, he served as “Minister of Defense” of the self-proclaimed “DPR”.
In November 2022, Strelkov was sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in The Hague in his absence, having been found guilty of shooting down a Malaysian Boeing in the sky over Donbass in July 2014.
Strelkov supported Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, but criticized the Russian leadership and military for their ineffectiveness in conducting combat operations.
From hero to enemy
From the hero of all official Russian propaganda, shooting offenders according to the laws of Stalin’s time and putting journalists whose notes he did not like “in the basement,” Girkin-Strelkov inside 10 years went all the way to become an enemy of the current state of Russia, which is being tried for extremism.
He criticized the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin and the Ministry of Defense for not actively waging war, sending thousands to slaughter, and not millions, as Strelkov wanted.
Maybe now in the war?
For the past year and a half, Russian authorities have been sending prisoners of war to Ukraine. Previously, they were lured by the prospect of a pardon and expungement of a criminal record—those convicted of even violent crimes could be released after a six-month contract. Now, instead of a pardon from President Putin, the prisoners receive only conditional release, and they are sent to serve until the end of the so-called “special military operation.”
Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.