Head of a Moscow Zen center sentenced to six years in a penal colony in case over military “fakes”

Head of a Moscow Zen center sentenced to six years in a penal colony in case over military “fakes”

After the case was reconsidered, a court in Moscow sentenced Buddhist and programmer Ilya Vasilyev (Arvi Hacker) to six years in a general-regime penal colony.

He was again found guilty of spreading “fakes” about the Russian army motivated by hatred.

The prosecutor had asked for eight years in a penal colony for him.

“What is he supposed to realize over such a term? Never call for peace again? I am sure that one day this article will be repealed, because it is unconstitutional,” Vasilyev’s lawyer said in closing arguments.

In June 2025, the programmer was sentenced in the same case to eight years in a penal colony. That decision was overturned in October, and the case was sent for a new hearing.

Posts about the war and pressure in pretrial detention

The case against Vasilyev was opened because of two Facebook posts in English. One spoke about Putin’s refusal of a Christmas ceasefire in 2022, and the other about the shelling of Dnipro in January 2023. In the final indictment, only the first publication remained.

During his time in pretrial detention, the programmer faced various kinds of pressure: he was denied medical care, his letters were not delivered to the recipients, and in February 2025 Vasilyev was sent to a punishment cell for 15 days.

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Ilya Vasilyev / Photo: SOTAvision