A 71-year-old veteran of the Tatar national movement, Fazyl Valiakhmetov, was sentenced to six years in a penal colony due to two posts on "VKontakte."

      Today, April 28, the Central District Military Court sentenced 71-year-old veteran of the Tatar national movement Fazyl Valiakhmetov to six years in prison. In addition, he was banned from administering websites and social networks for three and a half years. This was reported by "Mediazona." The pensioner was found guilty under articles on "discrediting" the Russian army and "justifying terrorism." According to "Idel.Realii," Valiakhmetov did not admit guilt. The prosecution requested seven years of imprisonment for the accused during the hearings that took place today. Additionally, the prosecution asked to prohibit the pensioner from administering websites and social networks for three years. As aggravating circumstances, the representative of the prosecution mentioned the commission of the crime "during mobilization or martial law, in wartime or in conditions of armed conflict or hostilities" (paragraph "l" of part 1 of article 63 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Valiakhmetov's defense, according to "Idel.Realii," requested to recognize him as innocent, terminate the proceedings, and release the pensioner.

      Let us remind you that the reason for initiating a criminal case under two articles of the Criminal Code of Russia were Valiakhmetov's posts on the internet. Initially, the pensioner was accused of repeated "discrediting" of the Russian army (part 1 of article 280.3 of the Criminal Code) due to five publications on "VKontakte" from December 2023 to February 2024, as well as "justifying terrorism on the internet" (part 2 of article 205.2 of the Criminal Code) due to one post. However, in July of last year, several publications were excluded from the charges. "In three publications, the psychological-linguistic examination found no signs of discrediting the armed forces. Another comment was not included in the final charges because it was published when the court decision on the pensioner's administrative case of discrediting (article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses) had not yet come into force," reported the human rights project "OVD-Info." Human rights defenders noted that the only remaining episode under the article on "discrediting" the army is Valiakhmetov's post in the Tatar language. In it, among other things, the man wrote: "Globalization is happening on the planet, borders are practically erased (for example, in Europe). Live where you want, buy land, a house, start your own business, etc. After all, for this, it is not necessary to seize any country, create new borders <…>, destroying cities, killing tens of thousands of people. So, ordinary people do not need this. This separate grief turns out to be necessary for 'politicians' only to show themselves, to boast that they have done some act, using the lower human instincts of scoundrels, and still sit in power, playing with them." Under the article on "justifying terrorism," Fazyl Valiakhmetov was charged with publishing a link to an address from the "Freedom of Russia" legion, which is recognized as a terrorist organization in Russia.

      Let us remind you that the pensioner has been in pre-trial detention since December 2024. According to "OVD-Info," he has third-degree hypertension — "a disease that prevents detention." In June of last year, the project "Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial" recognized Valiakhmetov as a political prisoner. Biography of Fazyl Valiakhmetov Fazyl Valiakhmetov was born on March 14, 1955, in the urban-type settlement of Karabash in the Bugulma district of the TASSR in a peasant family. From 1973 to 1975, he served in the tank troops in the group of Soviet forces in Germany. After the army, he worked as a locksmith, electrician, and labor teacher. Later, he graduated from the history faculty of Kazan State Pedagogical Institute by correspondence. From 1991 to 2004, Valiakhmetov was a correspondent for the newspaper "Bögelmä avazy" (translated from Tatar as "Voice of Bugulma"). Valiakhmetov is a veteran of the Tatar national movement. In the early 1990s, he participated in rallies demanding the sovereignty of Tatarstan. In 1991, he participated in a political hunger strike in support of Tatarstan's sovereignty and to prevent the holding of presidential elections in Russia in the republic. At the initiative and with the participation of Valiakhmetov, a memorial complex was built in Karabash for Musa Jalil and his comrades — Karabash-Jalilovtsy and victims of political repression, as well as a monument to Gabdulla Tukay was erected. In 2004, Valiakhmetov opened the people's museum-library named after Khadi Atlasi. He actively participated in all local history forums and conferences held by the World Congress of Tatars, the Society of Tatar Local Historians of the Republic of Tatarstan, and Kazan Federal University. In April 2018, Valiakhmetov was awarded a letter of gratitude from the President of Tatarstan as the head of a charitable foundation dedicated to Khadi Atlasi. In addition, he was awarded the medal of the World Congress of Tatars "For Services to the Tatar People." On December 15, 2023, the Bugulma City Court considered the administrative case against Fazyl Valiakhmetov under the article on "discrediting" the army due to three publications on "VKontakte." The court's ruling does not disclose their content; "Mediazona" reported that the pensioner was charged with reposts of a video recording and images. Soon after the armed invasion of Ukraine, Russian authorities tightened legislation. In Russia, administrative and criminal cases are initiated against participants in anti-war actions under new articles on "discrediting" the Russian army and spreading "fakes" about it, including on social networks. The accused face up to 15 years in prison. Military censorship has effectively been introduced in the country, prohibiting the media from covering the war except from state positions. Subscribe to our channel on Telegram.