23:45, 14 July 2023

Court upholds verdict against Colonel Kotovich in case on fakes about Russian army

Valery Kotovich. Photo: https://memopzk.org/figurant/kotovich-valerij-nikolaevich/ included into the register of foreign agents

In Rostov-on-Don, the military court refused to change the verdict against Valery Kotovich, Colonel of the “Rosgvardiya”, convicted under the article on disseminating false information about the Russian Armed Forces.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on May 2, the court sentenced Valery Kotovich, a former citizen of Ukraine, the former chief of the procurement department of the Southern Logistical Support Centre of the “Rosgvardiya” (National Guard of Russia), to six years of imprisonment. In addition, Valery Kotovich is deprived of the rank of Colonel. The human rights project “Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial” recognized Valery Kotovich as a political prisoner and noted that he was convicted for expressing his personal opinion about the actions of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine.

Valery Kotovich was granted Russian citizenship in 2014 and joined the law enforcement bodies of Russia. At trial, Aleksei Kustov, the chief of the logistical support centre, and his deputy Eduard Glebov testified that after the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, the Valery Kotovich’s relations with his colleagues worsened. According to the officers, subordinates reported to them that Valery Kotovich spoke disapprovingly about the actions of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine.

According to advocates, Valery Kotovich has become the highest-ranking officer convicted in a case on fake news about the Russian Armed Forces.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 14, 2023 at 10:14 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Source: Caucasian Knot