Russian defense lawyer gets prison term over social media posts about Ukraine
A court in Russia sentenced a well-known defense lawyer to 7 years for his social-media comments about military actions in Ukraine. He previously defended several high-profile cases including a former journalist
In a recent court hearing in Udmurtia region Dmitry Talantov got a 7-year prison term for his social-media posts (that discussed Russian military actions in Ukraine)
The 63-year old defense lawyer who led the regions bar association made posts on Facebook that criticized military operations; the court found these posts breaking laws about spreading incorrect info about armed forces
Ivan Safronov a former news reporter was one of Talantovʼs notable clients - he got a 22-year sentence bout two years ago for sharing secret data with foreign groups: his supporters say its just payback for his articles about weapon deals
Talantov must be released immediately and exonerated of all criminal responsibility
The case shows a wider issue with legal workers in Russia - other defense lawyers from Safronovʼs case had to leave Russia:
- Ivan Pavlov left after getting charged with sharing secret case info
- Yevgeny Smirnov went away when FSB started looking into his work
The defendant says he didnt do anything wrong but Russian lawmakers think everyone needs to stay united in what they see as a big fight with western countries
