A volunteer working for opposition leader Alexei Navalny in the republic of Chuvashia has been sentenced to more than two years behind bars for “inciting hatred” on social media, the Mediazona news website reported on Monday.
Alexei Mironov was charged last summer with making public calls for extremist activity and inciting hatred over two social media posts made in 2016.
The Novocheboksarsk municipal court sentenced Mironov to one year on charges of calling for extremist activity, a regional coordinator for the Open Russia political movement told Mediazona. The court sentenced Mironov to 1.3 years on charges of inciting hatred, Open Russia’s Dmitry Semyonov told the outlet.
Mironov is said to have shared an image of a military draft card with the caption “God bless the USA, Keep calm and f-ck Russia” with a comment saying, “I officially call for a violent regime change.”
The volunteer has 10 days to appeal the court’s decision, Navalny’s regional campaign office said on social media on Monday.
The municipal court also fined Mironov in August 2016 for sharing an image on social media comparing President Vladimir Putin to Hitler.
