Notes at the Front

Roman Ivanov, 51, a journalist living and working for RusNews in Korolyov, outside Moscow, was detained in April 2023 for online posts he made in April 2022, October 2022, and March 2023, regarding the murder of innocent civilians in Bucha, Ukraine (without explicitly mentioning who had done the murdering – Russian forces), as well as other war crimes of the Russian army. In March 2024, he was sentenced to 8 years in prison under Article 207.3.2.e of the Russian Criminal Code, which bans disseminating false information based on “political, ideological, racial, ethnic, or religious hatred.”

This is the Last Word statement Ivanov made after his sentencing:

Your Honor, I did not prepare a Last Word, so I will simply say what I think. I do not want to speak or hold forth on journalism or its problems in Russia, because journalism no longer exists in Russia. I do not want to lecture on the judicial system, on the courts, because there is no longer a judicial system or justice in Russia. I do not want to speak of politics, which also do not exist in Russia. I just want to talk about us, about all people, about Russians.