The Gagarinsky District Court of Moscow sentenced lawyer Ilya Novikov in absentia to 8.5 years in a general regime colony in the case of military “fakes” (clause “e” of Part 2 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). A SOTAvision correspondent reports this from the courtroom.
The state prosecution requested the same term for Novikov as the court assigned. The Moscow prosecutor's office adds that the court also banned Novikov from practicing law and administering websites for four years.
The reason for initiating a criminal case was a broadcast on the YouTube channel “Popular Politics” in April 2022, where the lawyer spoke about the involvement of the Russian army in the killings of civilians in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.
The decision to initiate a criminal case, a fragment of which Novikov published on his Twitter, says that he gave the interview “acting out of political hatred, realizing the illegal nature and social danger of his actions, <…> having a disdainful, unfriendly, hostile-aggressive attitude towards the current executive and legislative authorities of the Russian Federation.»
Since 2019, Ilya Novikov is a former player of the “What? Where? When?» — lives and works in Kyiv. In November 2022, the Ministry of Justice included the lawyer in the register of “foreign agents.” A week later, the Ministry of Internal Affairs put Novikov on the wanted list for a criminal offense. What exactly he was charged with was not specified.
In June 2023, the Moscow Bar Chamber deprived Novikov of his lawyer status after the third petition filed by the Ministry of Justice due to Novikov’s actions “aimed at undermining trust in him or the legal profession.” In the fall, it became known that a criminal case for treason had been opened against the lawyer (Article 275 of the Criminal Code). The FSB believes that he “has undergone military training, is participating in hostilities, and is engaged in propaganda work.”