Court sentences former Ukrainian presidential adviser in absentia to 11 years for fakes

MOSCOW, August 28. /TASS/. Russia’s Second Western District Military Court has sentenced a former freelance adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office, Alexey Arestovich (designated as a terrorist and extremist in Russia), to 11 years in prison in absentia after finding him guilty of inciting terrorism and spreading fake news about the Russian army, the court told TASS.

"For all of his crimes, Arestovich was sentenced to 11 years in prison, with the first three years to be served in a penal colony and the remainder in a general security penal colony. The court also barred him from administering websites and channels using electronic or information and telecommunications networks for four years," the court’s press service said. The sentence has not yet entered into legal force and can be appealed.

According to the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, Arestovich was convicted under Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code, which covers public calls to engage in terrorist activity using electronic or information and telecommunications networks, and Part 2 of Article 207.3, concerning the public dissemination of knowingly false information, presented as reliable reports, about the use of the Russian Armed Forces.

The Prosecutor General’s Office said that on March 17, 2022, Arestovich, who was then a freelance adviser to the Ukrainian president’s office, posted a video message on his official social media accounts and a video-hosting platform calling for terrorist activity, including the destruction of railways used to transport and supply Russian troops.

It said that on April 8, 2022, Arestovich also posted knowingly false information online alleging that Russian forces had allegedly shelled the railway station in Kramatorsk, killing at least 33 people and injuring about 100 civilians.

The case was heard in absentia after investigators took "exhaustive measures" to locate Arestovich and achieve his extradition, but determined that there was no realistic possibility of securing his appearance in court. He is outside Russia and has been placed on an international wanted list, according to the Prosecutor General’s Office.

The state prosecution was represented in court by an official from the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office.