The Moscow District Court of St. Petersburg sentenced search engine and archaeologist Oleg Belousov, who was accused of spreading "fake news" about the army and calling for extremism. According to Network Freedoms, he was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison in a penal colony.
The state prosecutor requested 9.5 years in prison for Belousov. It is noted that this is the first sentence under article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, issued in St. Petersburg.
Belousov has been in jail since June 2022. He was included in the list of terrorists and extremists. "OVD-info" writes that the man has a third disability group.
The archaeologist was arrested after a denunciation by members of the St. Petersburg Diggers public on Vkontakte. They told the police that Belousov opposed the war and accused Vladimir Putin of crimes. According to OVD-info, the reason for the accusations was the following comment: “Putin is traitor number 1, who plundered the country and is a war criminal. And who started these murders? Putler. Can the Russian-speaking cities of Kharkov and Mariupol be demolished?
The name of one of the scammers is known. This is Sergei Chmykhun, with whom Belousov talked for a long time. Chmykhun told reporters that he wanted Belousov "to realize everything and re-educate."