Stavropol resident complains about court bias in case of discrediting Russian Army

Vitaly Fedorenko, a resident of the Stavropol Territory, who was found guilty in six cases of discrediting Russian militaries, has stated that in some of his posts placed in the social network, he called for honourable burial of the soldiers who perished in the special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine. He has complained that the judges had treated his words as discrediting the Russian Army; Vitaly treats this court's attitude as bias.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the court imposed six fines of 30,000 roubles each on Vitaly Fedorenko, treating his posts placed in the "VKontakte" social network as discrediting Russian militaries.

Vitaly Fedorenko has explained that the court had found his statements regarding, in particular, SMO fighters' visits to educational establishment as discrediting the Russian Army. He asserts that one post was discussed in court, and in the end the judge fined him for another one – in which he discussed a ban on visiting schools.

"Moreover, when I was summoned to court, they wouldn't tell me in advance about the post to be considered. And there were no proofs – they failed to tell exactly how I had discredited, but simply 'discredited', and that's all! I understood that anyone can be fined and imprisoned for any post," Fedorenko has stated, adding that the court sessions lasted for a maximum of half an hour, and no examinations were conducted.

Vitaly denies that he was trying to discredit Russian militaries. Despite the fact that at the trial he stated that he had expressed his personal opinion and that it concerned the need, from his point of view, to bury the SMO fighters publicly and with honours, the judge found him guilty.