18-year-old Russian tried to criticize Russian attack: News

The trial of an 18-year-old young Russian student, who is being investigated for spreading “disinformation” about the Russian military, began Monday in Odintsovo, a western suburb of Moscow.

Maxime Lypkan, who faces up to 10 years in prison, was arrested last February, shortly after celebrating his 18th birthday, as he planned to organize a protest against Russian aggression in Ukraine.

The trial took place behind closed doors without the presence of the accused, who was held on Friday at a psychiatric hospital in Chekhov, near the Russian capital, at the request of the court.

“The trial will take place behind closed doors because, according to (forensic medical) expertise, he was recognized as partially irresponsible for his actions,” his lawyer Alan Katchmasov, who was at the trial, told AFP.

Mr. According to Katchmaso, his client was accused of spreading “false information about the Russian military” for publishing information on his Telegram channel and YouTube about “a well-known maternity hospital (in Ukraine) Maxim, which was allegedly bombed by Russian soldiers.”

“We are very worried about Maxim,” his mother Elena said before the hearing.

According to Maxime’s other lawyer, Antonina Levotchskaïa, the young man was “forcefully shaved” and had “conflicts with his cell neighbours” while in pre-trial detention.

The defense hopes that Maxim will be acquitted because his diagnosis has not been disclosed.

Besides his parents, only one person supported Maxim in court: Lyodmila Ivanova, a 67-year-old retiree. He said he continues to attend hearings from activists against the attack. “I came here to support the accused, but let me be supported by those who share the same point of view as those who find themselves under Russian justice,” he cried. .

Anti-assault activist Maxim Lipkon finished his schooling and went on to study law at university to become a lawyer.

Before his arrest, he had planned to organize a protest to mark the second anniversary of the start of Russian intervention in Ukraine on February 24, dubbed the “Year of Hell,” but Moscow authorities banned the gathering. Maxim later filed a legal complaint against the capital’s town hall, but lost the case.

In February 2023, he gave an interview to Radio Free Europe, a media outlet funded by the US Congress, in which he explained why he was protesting against the Kremlin.

“I was so shocked by the suffering of the Ukrainian people in Kharkiv, Bucha and other Ukrainian cities that I decided to actively protest,” he said in this interview, calling on his fellow citizens to do the same.

“I understand all the risks, but I am not afraid to organize anti-war activities,” affirmed the young man.

On February 21, at 6 am, the police arrived at his door and arrested him.

The next hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

Published at 9:49 pm on November 27, AFP

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