"Of course I'm scared": human rights activist Oleg Orlov threatened with imprisonment in Russia

Anti-war activist - "Of course I'm scared": human rights activist Oleg Orlov threatened with imprisonment in Russia

Oleg Orlov has already packed his prison bag, just in case. It contains sneakers without laces, a warm jogging suit and some food. "Of course I'm scared," says the Russian human rights activist in an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur. Because he criticized Russia's war against Ukraine, the 70-year-old is facing several years in prison. It doesn't help that Orlov is internationally renowned or that his organization Memorial, which is now banned in Russia, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Orlov, who used to head Memorial's human rights department, has already brought his prison bag to court several times - and then taken it home again. This is because the trial, which has been ongoing for months, is now also in the Russian headlines due to its curious twists and turns.

Oleg Orlov allegedly discredited the Russian army

It all began more than a year ago with an article in which Orlov criticized the war ordered by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin under the title "They wanted fascism, they got it". For this, he was accused of "discrediting" the Russian army in his home country - but there was great solidarity internationally. "The price he and others pay for exercising their right to freedom of expression in Russia is unacceptably high," lamented the organization Amnesty International. But then Orlov was - surprisingly for many - initially only given a relatively mild fine of 150,000 roubles (around 1500 euros).

No harsher sentence was handed down in a subsequent appeal in mid-December either; instead, the judge decided to reopen the case from scratch. It is currently not known when this will happen. However, it is clear that the Russian judiciary will still be able to put Orlov behind bars after all, as this is what the public prosecutor's office is actually demanding.

We can only speculate about the background to these unusually complicated proceedings. After all, since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, numerous other opponents of the war in Russia have been sentenced to long prison terms in much quicker trials. Internationally, they are generally classified as political prisoners.

Did the judiciary make a mistake in Orlov's case? Was it a kind of faux pas by a Moscow district court that was not particularly experienced with political trials? Orlov believes this is possible. In the actual trial, the public prosecutor's office had simply not put forward any tenable accusations, but in the indictment in the appeal proceedings, completely new ones suddenly emerged. However, these were "very strange" and "very badly written", he recalls. Such a "self-revealing" document gives rise to the suspicion that it was written in great haste and under pressure from the Kremlin, he says.

Russia reporter Rainer Munz reports from Moscow

"You get the impression that they wrote these lies with their left leg," says the human rights activist. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Orlov seems somewhat amused as he talks about the trial on this winter's day. Outside it is freezing cold, inside Orlow sits in a patterned woolen sweater in front of a large wall of books.

Specifically, he is accused of "discrediting the use of the army to protect the interests of the Russian Federation, its citizens, international peace and security", he explains. "I said in court that I believe that the deployment of the army in Ukraine is contrary to the interests of Russia and its citizens. I am a citizen of Russia. And it goes against my interests." Orlov clearly enjoys describing how he and his lawyers have dismantled the prosecutor's arguments piece by piece.

Imprisonment hangs over Orlov's head like the sword of Damocles

Orlov is a man of principle. It was not only the public prosecutor's office that contested the original verdict, but also he himself. "I said right from the start: I will challenge any guilty verdict. Even though I was advised not to," he says. "They said: Why are you doing this? It's such a lenient sentence." For him, however, the matter was clear, because: "I wasn't guilty of what I was accused of."

So while the threat of imprisonment hangs over his head like a sword of Damocles, Orlow carries on as best he can. It is now too late for him to flee abroad anyway, as Russia's judiciary has banned him from leaving the country in light of the ongoing proceedings. Although he has long since reached retirement age, he now works for an association that he and other former Memorial members have set up. Among other things, they compile lists with the names of political prisoners in Russia, currently more than 630, and also offer contact points for politically persecuted people.

However, because they can no longer officially register their new organization as a legal entity in Russia, only a fraction of their previous work is still possible, says Orlov. Finding lawyers, for example, is now only possible in exceptional cases; and cooperation with the European Court of Human Rights - previously a cornerstone of Memorial's work - is on hold. "It's all very complicated," says Orlov.

Nevertheless, he has no regrets about staying in Russia. "I see this court case as part of my work. And so far this work has been very successful, very effective," says Orlov. "Because we have received a lot of attention in the course of the trial." But he also admits: "The price is high."