A Russian military court on Thursday sentenced Armen Aramyan, the banished co-founder of the independent youth publication DOXA, to 10 years and one month in prison in absentia under wartime censorship laws.The court found Aramyan guilty of justifying terrorism and spreading out intentionally incorrect information about the Russian armed force, according to the Moscow district attorneys office.Prosecutors implicated Aramyan of posting a fake map of Ukrainian civilians killed during Russias occupation of Bucha and releasing an editorial calling for violent resistance against the Russian federal government, the independent news site Mediazona reported.The judge also prohibited Aramyan from handling sites for four years.
State district attorneys had sought a 12-year, one-month sentence.Aramyan, who now resides in Europe, informed The Moscow Times that he hoped Thursdays sentencing would not cause real jail time.Theres constantly a risk that I could wind up transiting through a nation that decides to extradite me to Russia, and thats a threat Ill have to live with, he said in composed comments.Right now, though, there are people who are far less fortunate those who are in fact required to serve these crazy sentences, Aramyan included, prompting advocates to contribute to companies that assist political detainees in Russia.Russias Prosecutor Generals Office designated DOXA an undesirable organization last year, making affiliation with the outlet a criminal offense.In October, Russias financial authorities added Aramyan to their list of terrorists and extremists, effectively freezing his bank accounts.Aramyan fled to Armenia and later on Germany after he and fellow DOXA editors were sentenced to two years of correctional labor in April 2022 for apparently prompting minors to object in assistance of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in 2021.
Established in 2017, DOXA lost its official status as a trainee company in 2019 after Moscows Higher School of Economics cracked down on political advocacy following that years opposition protests.Mack Tubridy contributed reporting.