A Siberian court sentenced two former fighters from Russias Wagner mercenary group to 5 and a half years in prison for spreading out war phonies in an interview with a banished prisoners rights activist.Maxim Zelenov and Alexei Chernyavsky were hired from a chastening nest in the Siberian region of Irkutsk in November 2022, days after being pardoned and having their records expunged by President Vladimir Putin, according to a statement from court authorities.The two guys were said to have deserted their training camp on Jan.
1, 2023, and later on settled in Russian-occupied Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.Later that year, they contacted Vladimir Osechkin, the exiled founder of the prisoners rights group Gulagu.net, and claimed Wagner commanders had actually ordered fighters to eliminate civilians throughout Russias intrusion of Ukraine.There were grandmas and grandfathers.
We probably eliminated 40 individuals in a five-story structure, Zelenov said in a September 2023 interview.Court authorities declared that Osechkin provided Zelenov and Chernyavsky support in seeking political asylum abroad and paid them 50,000 rubles ($580) for the interview.The Minusinsky City Court in Russias Krasnoyarsk area discovered Zelenov and Chernyavsky guilty of spreading intentionally false information about the Russian military.Zelenov and Chernyavsky misguided a many variety of individuals, produced the appearance of illegal activities by the Russian Armed Forces [that] weakened its authority in society, the court said.In addition, the court ordered Zelenov to go through required psychiatric treatment for an unspecified disorder.Following Russias major intrusion of Ukraine, Gulagu.net founder Osechkin was himself charged with spreading war fakes and validating terrorism.
Russian authorities also labeled him a foreign agent.Osechkins track record took a hit after the investigative news outlet Proekt claimed in 2023 that he was profiting from helping Russians seek asylum abroad and keeping ties with high-ranking Russian security officials.