Supporters of Ukraine place a Russian flag with the words "killers" painted on it on the steps outside the Lincoln Memorial during a rally to mark the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion in 2023. Moscow politician and human rights activist Alexei Gorinov's criticism of the war resulted in what the United States says was an arbitrary sentence by the judge, whom U.S. officials now are sanctioning. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI |
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Dec. 31 (UPI) -- The United States sanctioned a Russian judge for the "arbitrary" imprisonment of Moscow politician and human rights activist Alexei Gorinov as officials in Russia seek to extend his sentence, the U.S. announced Tuesday.
"Russia's manipulation of its legal system silences dissent and suffocates the truth about Russia's indefensible war against Ukraine," Acting U.S. Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith wrote in a release.
The United States issued a series of sanctions on Russian Judge Olesya Mendeleeva for her role in the jail sentence of Gorinov, 63, a former Moscow city councilor and a known defender of human rights.
Smith said the United States joins the international community in calling for Gorinov's "immediate and unconditional" release and the freedom of "all others whom Russia has arbitrarily detained," he said.
Mendeleeva sentenced Gorinov in July 2022 to seven years in prison in what was seen as an effort to stifle public dissent over Russia's war in Ukraine. Gorinov, officials say, has since suffered physical abuse and a denial of medical treatment.
Her sanctions were imposed under the Global Magnitsky program.
It arrived the same day the Treasury Department announced a round of sanctions against organizations in Iran and Russia for attempts to influence U.S. elections in this last election cycle.
Mendeleeva, known for handing down long and harsh sentences, during the trial refused to consider witness testimony, arguing that Gorinov's "reformation" would be impossible without jail time. Reports say he suffers from tuberculosis and has repeatedly been denied much-needed medical treatment by Mendeleeva.
However, Gorinov now faces a second investigation on accusations of "justification of terrorism."
Russia introduced war censorship laws roughly a week into its full-scale 2022 invasion of Ukraine to make protest against the invasion a grave offense, according to Amnesty International.
She became the first Russian judge to find a defendant guilty for "knowingly disseminating false information" about Russia's military when she convicted Gorinov.
It's alleged that Gorinov -- during a meeting of the council of deputies of Moscow's Krasnoselsky district on March 15, 2022 -- proposed a moment of silence for victims of Russia's deadly Ukrainian war instead of discussing a planned children's drawing contest.
According to the indictment, he allegedly called Russia's military action a "war" versus the government's propagandized "special operation." It added Gorinov allegedly called Russia a "fascist state," saying that it wants to seize Ukrainian territory.
In a statement, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the United States "stands in solidarity with the Russian people, who face threats, violence, reprisal, and imprisonment from Russian Federation authorities for exercising their human rights and fundamental freedoms in their own country."
