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Uzbek leader in Russia gets 4 years for post 'mocking troops'
Baratov was arrested in January over a meme about bringing Russian soldiers home from Ukraine that played on the Russian President's words
Usman Baratov stands inside the defendants' cage following a court hearing in Moscow, after he was placed in pre-trial detention. AFP File Photo
A Russian court on Monday sentenced an Uzbek community leader to four years in a penal colony for a post mocking troops fighting in Ukraine, RIA Novosti state news agency reported.
Usman Baratov, the head of an Uzbek community organisation that works on migrant rights, was found guilty of fomenting enmity and hate, RIA Novosti reported, citing investigators, after the closed-door trial.
In December 2023, Baratov posted an image of a rooster on social media after Russian President Vladimir Putin joked about rising egg prices in Russia.
"Bring the roosters back from the front," said a caption to the photo, which accompanied a post reporting Putin's comments.
The term "rooster" in Russian prison slang refers to inmates at the bottom of the prison hierarchy, and often carries sexual and homophobic undertones.
Baratov, 66, told the judge after his sentencing that "this is not a verdict, this is a disgrace to the Russian justice system... The court is the servant of the executive power," in an audio recording posted by RusNews telegram channel.
The community leader, a Russian citizen who lives in Moscow, was arrested in January after pro-Kremlin military bloggers and activists complained about his post.
Investigators carried out a "linguistic and psychological analysis" of the post and argued it had hurt the "dignity" of Russian soldiers in Ukraine.
Putin had joked about rising egg prices during his 2023 end-of-year news conference in response to concerns over growing costs for basic foods.
Baratov was charged with acting in an "organised group" -- meaning he faced a longer sentence -- although the post appeared on his personal social media account.
Investigators said he "created and headed an organised group based on ethnicity" to carry out hate crimes against those fighting in Ukraine.
Memorial rights group recognised Baratov as a political prisoner.
It said on its website that his post and the "satirical" image "did not amount to any crime at all and cannot be considered as fomenting hatred".
After his arrest, Russia added Baratov to a list of "terrorists and extremists" and prominent pro-Kremlin lawmaker Pyotr Tolstoi wrote that diaspora groups were "legalised mafia structures".
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