Colombian sentenced to 5 years in prison for "fake news"

(Patria) - A Colombian has been sentenced to five years and two months in prison for spreading "fake news" about the actions of the Russian army in Ukraine in a rare case where Russia is applying its war censorship laws against a foreigner, the independent Russian news agency Mediazona reported. Alberto Enrique Giraldo Saray was found guilty of spreading false news about the Russian army, violating a law passed last year that has been used to crack down on journalists, human rights advocates and others who oppose what Russia calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine, Reuters reported.

The indictment provides for a sentence of up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to 5 million rubles ($60,000). Giraldo Saray's trial at the Moscow District Court was held behind closed doors. It was not stated whether he pleaded not guilty to the charges. The Colombian was arrested in April 2022 after investigators said he bought mobile phones and SIM cards and placed them in a shopping mall in Moscow.

Accomplices then remotely sent mass messages to the phones containing "knowingly false information" about the conduct of Russian soldiers in Ukraine, including the killing of civilians, according to a statement from the prosecutor's office released last December. Two accomplices, Briceño Mendoza and Ramirez Salazar, who were outside Russia at the time, transferred money and cryptocurrencies to Giraldo Saray as payment, the prosecutor's office said. The two men have been put on wanted lists. On his social media pages, Giraldo Saray expressed pro-Russian views, calling Russian soldiers "neo-Nazis" on Facebook.

According to the Russian human rights network OVD-Info, nearly 20,000 people have been detained at anti-war protests in Russia since the start of the invasion last February, and criminal proceedings have been initiated against more than 500 people. But the case against Giraldo Saray stands out because few foreigners have been deprived of their liberty for such criminal offenses.

Last March, authorities accused prominent Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Gordon of discrediting the army and spreading false information about its activities. The Russian business daily Kommersant reported last year that Giraldo Saray had lived in Moscow for 20 years and had a Russian passport. He also had a valid visa for the United States, posing a potential flight risk, Kommersant reports.

"There are no winners or losers in war," Giraldo Saray wrote on Facebook three days after the invasion on February 24 last year. "EVERYONE LOSES!".