A 39-year-old man in Siberia has been jailed for three years for defacing posters that called on people to enlist in the Russian army.
According to Russia regional authorities, the man, from Zheleznogorsk in the Krasnoyarsk region, was accused of having “deliberately and intentionally” defaced 13 recruitment posters last June.
A court found him guilty of having “discredited” Russian forces, the authorities said. Russian authorities frequently use that charge to suppress dissent against the war in Ukraine.
Russia’s censorship laws have effectively banned anti-war statements and news that clashes with the Kremlin’s narrative of what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Arrests over suspicion of espionage, treason, sabotage, extremism, and “discrediting” the armed forces have increased, often with heavy prison sentences.
As the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion approaches, public poster campaigns in many cities and regions emphasize the increasing payments for those willing to fight in Ukraine.
