Preacher fined half a million for reposting Prigozhin and commenting on an arson attack on a military enlistment office

A preacher was fined half a million for reposting Prigozhin and commenting on an arson attack on a military enlistment office

Ural preacher Eduard Charov faced 7.5 years in a penal colony. In the end, the court gave him a fine of 500,000 rubles and banned him from running social media accounts for four years.

▶️ What the preacher was punished for

The case was prompted by two posts on VKontakte. Charov reposted a video by Yevgeny Prigozhin criticizing Russia’s military leadership, and under a news item about the arson attack on a military enlistment office he wrote: “Award this citizen the Order of Courage.”

For the repost, he was accused of “discrediting” the army; for the comment, of “justifying terrorism.” At the same time, the person who set fire to the military enlistment office was convicted not of terrorism, but of damaging property.

▶️ Who Eduard Charov is

The preacher has run a shelter for homeless people in Sverdlovsk Region for more than ten years. After mobilization began, he offered refuge to men who did not want to go to war. According to the preacher, seven people contacted him.

▶️ Health condition

Charov suffers from chronic illnesses. He said that imprisonment could amount to a death sentence for him. Read the preacher’s story in our cards.

Photo: Eduard Charov / personal VKontakte page

❗️ Publicly sharing this post may be unsafe because Russian authorities have declared OVD-Info an extremist organization. But you can still read and like us!