Roman Melnychenko has been arrested for two months.

The Central District Court of Volgograd has arrested lawyer Roman Melnychenko for two months in a case of discrediting the army.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", after a search, former lecturer of Volgograd State University, lawyer Roman Melnychenko was detained. The reason for the detention was a publication on social media, in which law enforcement officials saw discrediting of the army. On September 6, 2024, it became known that the former lecturer of Volgograd State University, expert in international law Roman Melnychenko was arrested for three days on charges of disobeying police, and was also fined 30,000 rubles under the article on discrediting the army.

In Volgograd, former professor of Volgograd State University, lawyer Roman Melnychenko has been arrested, as claimed by "Height 102", the lawyer's detention took place the day before, and the preventive measure was chosen today.

The Central District Court of Volgograd has sent Melnychenko to a pre-trial detention center until September 20. Melnychenko is accused of repeated discrediting of the Russian army (Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation): according to the investigation, already having a fine for a similar administrative article (Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Offenses Code), he again published some video on the topic of the military operation in Ukraine, writes "Bloknot Volgograd".

Lawyer Vitaly Burkin commented on the persecution of Melnychenko

"A wonderful legal scholar and teacher. A person of rare talent. An intellectual. Always for truth and justice, does not bend or crawl," quotes him "Word for Defense".

The lawyer expressed the opinion that the outcome of the case is predetermined.

"Persecution for statements not associated with real calls for violent change of anything and the like is merely an expression of freedom of thought and freedom of speech. And the existing practice of linguistic examinations conducted at the request of law enforcement agencies, unfortunately, serves solely to legitimize legal abuses," said lawyer Sergey Naumov.

In 2022, the prosecutor's office accused Melnychenko of spreading fakes after his publications about events in Ukraine, and lawyers from Volgograd State University, where he taught, saw signs of agitation among students in his actions. On April 19, 2022, it became known that Melnychenko was dismissed from the university for absenteeism and immoral behavior. Melnychenko saw political motives in the dismissal and decided to appeal the rector's order. On June 7, the court imposed a fine of 30,000 rubles on Melnychenko, finding him guilty of spreading false information due to publications about Ukraine. On July 12, 2022, the Soviet District Court of Volgograd considered Melnychenko's appeal and upheld the fine. It was also not possible to achieve reinstatement in the position.