A Russian court sentenced [7] politician Lev Shlosberg [8] to 11 years and one month in a penal colony on charges of "discrediting" the Russian military and spreading "false information," Amnesty International said Aug. 17. Marie Struthers, Amnesty's Eastern Europe director, called the charges "blatant reprisals for exercising his right to freedom of expression to call for peace," and demanded his immediate and unconditional release.
The sentence from a Pskov City Court judge combines penalties under Article 280.3 [12] of the Criminal Code, which imposes penalties for repeated "discrediting" of the armed forces, and Article 207.3 [13], which criminalizes dissemination of "knowingly false information" about the Russian military, and carries up to 15 years in a penal colony. Both provisions were introduced by Federal Law No. 32-FZ, signed into law [14] on March 4, 2022.
Shlosberg was also convicted [15] in November 2025 under Russia's "foreign agent [16]" law, and sentenced to 420 hours of community service—despite calls for a 12-year term by prosecutor Anna Goryacheva.
The Article 207.3 charge rested on a Telegram post Shlosberg reposted [17] on Feb. 25, 2022, the day after the Ukraine invasion was launched but seven days before Federal Law No. 32-FZ was signed. Shlosberg argued [18] throughout proceedings that he could not be prosecuted under a law that did not exist when he acted. The Article 280.3 charge stemmed from a video debate in which Shlosberg called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine. According to Mediazona [19], prosecutors attributed statements to him that were made by his debate opponent—the very positions Shlosberg was arguing against. Judge Victoria Malyamova concluded the judicial investigation phase without defense counsel present, and Shlosberg was never cross-examined in court. In his final statement, Shlosberg asserted that the case had no authentic legal substance and was designed to punish him for his political stance.
Shlosberg, 63, is deputy chairman of Yabloko [9], the only registered Russian party openly opposing the war in Ukraine. Authorities have previously targeted the party [20]: in May 2025, police raided a Yabloko event in Yekaterinburg and detained 10 attendees. On the same day as the Shlosberg sentencing, Russia's Supreme Court rejected Yabloko's appeal [11] of its removal from the Sept. 20 State Duma ballot—the first time a party had been removed from a Duma election since 1999 [21]—over alleged copyright and campaign finance violations, following a challenge by nationalist party Rodina and supported by both the Central Election Commission and state prosecutors. Yabloko chairman Nikolai Rybakov said the party would challenge the ruling before Russia’s Constitutional Court.
From JURIST [22], Aug. 19. Used with permission. Internal links added.
See our last report [16] on resistance and repression in Russia.
