The court in Krasnodar sentenced Votanovsky* to a term in a penal colony in absentia.

The court in Krasnodar sentenced the author of the Telegram channel "Titushki in Krasnodar" Vitaly Votanovsky* to eight months in a penal colony. The case was considered in absentia, as the activist lives outside the Russian Federation.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", in mid-April, law enforcement officials drew up two protocols against the activist from Krasnodar, Vitaly Votanovsky*, accusing him of ignoring the labeling of his publications on the internet with a mark that they were produced by a foreign agent. At the end of May, a criminal case against Votanovsky* under the article on evasion of duties of a foreign agent was submitted to the court.

The Prikubansky Court of Krasnodar found the activist Vitaly Votanovsky* guilty of evading the duties of a foreign agent and sentenced him in absentia to a real term. The retired lieutenant colonel was sentenced to eight months in a settlement colony, reported Kuban journalist Andrey Koshik on his Telegram channel.

According to data on the court's website, the sentence against Votanovsky* was issued on August 12, but information about it was published in the case file two days later. The activist himself ironically commented on the sentence in his Telegram channel "Titushki in Krasnodar".

“I am outraged, why not nine months? At the beginning of my life, I spent nine months in solitary confinement, warm and humid,” he wrote.

Vitaly Votanovsky* has been living in Croatia for the last two years. Before leaving Russia, he identified law enforcement officials at protests and published photographs of military graves, in particular, he found the cemetery of the Wagner PMC in the village of Bakinskaya. The activist received death threats and faced criminal charges, notes "7x7. Horizontal Russia".

In the past, the activist and author of the Telegram channel "Titushki in Krasnodar" Vitaly Votanovsky* was repeatedly detained at protests. On March 30, 2022, a search was conducted at the activist's place, after which law enforcement officials drew up a protocol against him for discrediting the armed forces of Russia for a pacifist slogan on the group's avatar. On October 6, 2022, the court in Krasnodar fined Votanovsky* five thousand rubles under the article on participation in an undesirable organization.

In February 2023, Votanovsky* reported that after filming and publishing in his Telegram channel "Titushki in Krasnodar" a photo of the graves of soldiers killed in Ukraine, he began to receive threats. In April 2023, the activist reported that he left Russia.

News about cases of persecution of activists is collected by "Caucasian Knot" on a special thematic page "Persecution of Activists".

* included in the Russian register of foreign agents.

** the activities of the Meta company (which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) are banned in Russia.