On Tuesday, 20th February, Moscow’s Gagarinsky Court made a decision to “arrest in absentia” Leonid Gozman, a prominent figure in the opposition party. This decision was made according to a criminal case based on the “dissemination of fakes about the Russian army.” The news was reported by RIA Novosti.
Further details from the report indicate that Gozman has been charged under Part 1 of Article 207.3 of the Russian Federation’s Criminal Code. This section pertains specifically to the dissemination of knowingly false information concerning the Russian Armed Forces. If found guilty, the potential sentence could range from a minimum of five years to a maximum of ten years in prison.
The initiation of the criminal case against Gozman was triggered by certain text messages that he posted on social media platforms like Telegram and Facebook. These posts highlighted allegations of criminal activities committed by the Russian military in the city of Bucha in Ukraine. This information was shared in the court proceedings.
Gozman’s lawyer, Mikhail Biryukov, made a statement asserting that his client does not believe that he is guilty of the charges that have been leveled against him.
Leonid Gozman had previously been arrested in the period between August and September 2022. After experiencing two administrative arrests and spending time in a pre-trial detention center, he was eventually released. Following his release, he made the decision to leave Russia.
In a recent development, the Gagarinsky court in Moscow also announced the “arrest in absentia” of Konstantin Sonin, an economist and a professor at the University of Chicago. Sonin has been charged under the same article as Gozman, pertaining to the dissemination of false information about the Russian army.
