The Russian prosecutor's office is seeking three years in prison for a veteran in the fight for human rights

The Russian prosecutor's office asked the Golovinsky district court in Moscow to sentence Oleg Orlov, a veteran in the fight for human rights, to two years and 11 months in prison, accusing him of "again discrediting" the Russian army involved in the invasion of Ukraine.

Orlov is the co-chair of the Human Rights Memorial, an organization that is the recipient of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.

The lawyer, Katerina Tertukina, declared on February 26 that her client was not guilty, while Orlov refused to participate in the closing arguments, stressing that he would give his closing statement before the court makes a decision.

Fifteen diplomats from Western countries attended the trial, while the courtroom was packed as dozens of activists came to show support for the 70-year-old.

Orlov, whose retrial began on February 16, came to the courtroom clutching a copy of Franz Kafka's novel The Trial, about a man who was arrested and tried on charges unknown to him.

In October last year, a court fined Orlov 150.000 rubles ($1.590) following protests condemning Russian aggression against Ukraine and an article he wrote criticizing the Russian government for sending troops to Ukraine that was published in the French magazine Mediapart.

In mid-December, the Moscow City Court overturned that verdict and returned Orlov's case to prosecutors, who appealed the decision, saying the sentence was too lenient.

Earlier this month, Russian authorities added Orlov to the "foreign agent" register, and investigators updated the charge against the human rights activist, saying his alleged wrongdoing was motivated by "ideological hostility against traditional Russian spiritual, moral and patriotic values."

The Memorial organization said the case was hastily reinvestigated, while Orlov said he thinks investigators were ordered to move quickly on the case so a new trial could begin.

"Despite this haste, I am ready to prove my innocence and my position regarding the rule of the constitution," Orlov said earlier.

Orlov became known as one of Russia's leading human rights activists after he founded the Memorial Center for Human Rights after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

From 2004 to 2006, Orlov was a member of the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights Institutions.

For his contribution to human rights in Russia, Orlov received the Sakharov Prize in 2009, an international honorary award for individuals or groups who have dedicated their lives to the defense of human rights and freedom of thought.

The memorial received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 for its long-standing "struggle for human rights and democracy".