Moscow court jails human rights activist for 30 months for Ukraine war criticism

Russian human rights activist Oleg Orlov has been jailed for 30 months for criticising the war in Ukraine (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

A veteran human rights campaigner who criticised the war in Ukraine was convicted by a Moscow court on Tuesday of “repeatedly discrediting” the Russian military and sentenced to two years and six months in prison.

Oleg Orlov, co-chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights group Memorial, had rejected the case against him as politically motivated, saying in his closing statement: “I don’t regret anything and I don’t repent anything.” He also denounced the war again.