In the Moskovsky District Court of Nizhny Novgorod, a trial in absentia begins against the head of the Sakharov Center, Sergei Lukashevsky, accused of spreading “fakes” about the Russian army. The first meeting is scheduled for today, as follows from the case file.
Lukashevsky is charged with disseminating false information about the Russian armed forces based on political hatred (clause “e” of Part 2 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). The maximum penalty under this article is imprisonment for a term of 5 to 10 years.
Previously, the case against the head of the Sakharov Center was not known. As Lukashevsky himself told Mediazona, a case was opened against him back in March 2023 — first under Part 1 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code, but later the charges were toughened. The reason for the criminal prosecution of the head of the Sakharov Center was four posts on his Facebook.
“In one I wrote that Russian troops are committing crimes during the war. Literally like that, without details. Another is that the reports from Bucha are terrible. Also literally like that, without details. And so on. In my opinion, this is an expression of opinion, not a dissemination of facts. But in general, I believe that the articles of the Criminal Code themselves — 207.3 and similar ones — are unconstitutional and contradict international law. The accusation of hatred is completely unfounded,” says Lukashevsky.
The head of the Sakharov Center, with the support of the Public Verdict, is defended by lawyer Alexei Matasov.
In January 2023, Sergei Lukashevsky was fined three million rubles under ten protocols for violating the law on “foreign agents.» In the summer of the same year, the Moscow City Court, at the request of the Ministry of Justice, liquidated the Sakharov Center. Lukashevsky is not in Russia.