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Russian journalist sentenced in absentia to eight years behind bars for ‘fake news’

A Moscow court found prominent Russian journalist Alexander Nevzorov guilty of spreading “fake news” about the Russian army and sentenced the man on Wednesday, in absentia, to eight years in jail.

In his social media posts, Nezorov accused Russia’s armed forces of deliberately shelling a maternity hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in the early stage of the war. Moscow purported the assertion to be false. The posts prompted investigators to open a case against him.

In a statement, the court said he would serve his term in a penal colony if he ever returned to Russia. He was also barred from managing internet content for four years.

Running a two million subscribers-strong YouTube channel, Nevzorov called the investigation against him ridiculous and fled the country with his wife in March last year. In June, he was granted Ukrainian citizenship after publicly denouncing Russia’s invasion, calling the war a “crime” and Ukraine its victim.

Eight days into its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Russia passed a law penalising the intentional spreading of “fake” news about Russia’s military with jail terms of up to 15 years.

Russia has since blocked access to news sites publishing content at odds with Moscow’s official line on the conflict, while dozens of Russian and international news outlets have left the country.

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