Amnesty International is deeply concerned about the criminal prosecution and imprisonment on remand of Dmitry Talantov, human rights lawyer and the president of the Bar Association of the Republic of Udmurtia. He is charged under Article 207.3 (2) (d) of the Russian Criminal Code (“Public dissemination of knowingly false information about use of the Russian Armed Forces abroad and execution by the Russian government bodies of their powers, committed with motives of enmity or hatred”) for his Facebook post in which he criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. If found guilty, he may face up to 10 years in prison. Dmitry Talantov is a prisoner of conscience prosecuted solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression. He must be released immediately and unconditionally and all charges against him must be dropped. Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code must be repealed.
