Moscow’s Tverskoi District Court sentenced 72-year-old Russian opposition politician Leonid Gozman to 15 days in prison, Interfax news agency reported, citing the court’s press service.
“I did not display extremist symbols, no swastikas. I do not keep the Hitler quotient as they keep it in the main temple of the armed forces of the Russian Federation. I did not call for violence, I have plenty of texts, in which I say that all political changes should be made peacefully Guzmán told the court.
Guzmán was found guilty of violating the Code of Administrative Offenses (specifically the article on identifying the actions of the Soviet Union with Nazi Germany) for a post he made on Facebook in 2020 in which he criticized the Russian authorities’ desire to ban the comparison of the USSR with Nazi Germany.
In his post, which was the reason for his arrest, Guzmán had written at the time: “In the given case I want to argue the following: They should not be equated. Hitler is the absolute evil, but Stalin is even worse. The Es- They are criminals, but the NKVD is even worse because the Chekists killed their own people. Hitler declared war on humanity. The Communists declared a total war on their own people” (NKVD was Stalin’s security service, Chekists were the workers in it s.s).
During the court session, the website “Ostorozno Novosti” writes, Gozman cited health reasons, but the court did not consider his request.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine Leonid Gozman left Russia but in mid-June he returned, stating that his decision was a “moral and not a political choice”. He was declared a “foreign agent” in May.
In July, following an inquiry by the Investigative Committee, he was prosecuted because he and his wife did not inform the authorities in time that they had dual citizenship. In 2018, they acquired Israeli citizenship but informed the Russian authorities a year later, later than required by law.
In 2021 the State Duma (lower house) passed a law signed into law by Russian President Vladimir Putin that prohibits equating communists with Nazis. The administrative law in question provides for the imposition of a prison sentence of up to 15 days and a fine of up to 2,000 rubles (€32.83).
Source: APE-MPE, Novaya Gazeta.Europe, medusa.io
Source: Capital
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