Russian Journalist Sentenced in Absentia to 7 Years Over Military Disinformation Case

A Russian court has sentenced journalist Yevgeniya Baltatarova, originally from Buryatia and living in Kazakhstan since 2022, to seven years in a general-regime penal colony and a fine, Orda.kz reports.

The ruling was issued under Article 207.3 of Russia’s Criminal Code — a law introduced after the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine to punish the “public dissemination of knowingly false information” about the Russian Armed Forces.

Baltatarova confirmed the sentence was handed down in a first-instance court:

There will be more details once my lawyers receive the full court decision. We’re planning to appeal. The procedure itself was absurd, they were really forcing a square peg into a round hole. And conceptually, it’s just sad that such articles exist, that there’s a war going on, and people on both sides are dying — people who don’t want this war.

Multiple criminal cases were opened against Baltatarova in Russia, including the current charge under Article 207.3. The law has been widely used against opposition figures and independent media.

Previously, a court in Almaty denied her request for political asylum, ruling that the existence of a case under Article 207.3 did not in itself prove political persecution.

Baltatarova was placed on an interstate wanted list by Russian authorities.

In December 2023, she managed to leave Kazakhstan and secure asylum in France. From Europe, she continues to report on repression in Russia and publicly speak out against the war in Ukraine.

Original Author: Ruslan Loginov