Russia’s war: Allegedly defamed Russian army: doctor has to be imprisoned

A court in Moscow has sentenced a doctor to five and a half years in prison for allegedly defaming the Russian army. The public prosecutor’s office even demanded a six-year prison sentence, reported the state news agency Tass. Pediatrician Nadezhda Buyanova is said to have made negative comments about Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The case generated huge media interest after the widow of a fallen Russian soldier complained online about the doctor and called for criminal prosecution.

The proceedings against Bujanova were opened in February 2024. According to the widow, during an examination of her son, she complained that he was under stress after his father’s death in the war. The doctor then replied that the soldier was a “legitimate target” of the Ukrainian armed forces. Bujanova has always denied this statement.

Nevertheless, the Central Investigative Committee in Russia opened a case. The head of the investigative committee, Alexander Bastrykin – a fellow student of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin – took the case under his personal supervision. The doctor was fired, her apartment was completely trashed during a search, and the officers even tore the wallpaper off the walls. Bujanova was later taken into custody.

Russia is cracking down on war critics and dissidents. Shortly after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Moscow’s parliament, the State Duma, passed a law criminalizing “discrediting the Russian army.” These include, among other things, the dissemination of information about war crimes committed by the Russian armed forces, but also fundamental criticism of Russia’s war of aggression.