The 1st Western District Military Court sentenced Daniil Belousov, a St. Petersburg resident, to seven years in a penal colony on charges of justifying terrorism (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Russian Criminal Code), according to RusNews. The hearing was held behind closed doors. Prosecutors had requested a nine-year sentence.
The criminal case stemmed from Belousov's messages in a chat called 'No to War.' As Bumaga reported, he sent photos of a pro-Ukrainian rally that took place outside the Moldovan parliament building in Chisinau. According to the prosecution, the chat was linked to the project 'Media Partisans | No to War,' of which Belousov was allegedly an administrator.
Daniil Belousov is the son of political prisoner Oleg Belousov. In 2023, his father received five and a half years in a penal colony for comments on VKontakte in which he called Vladimir Putin 'traitor number one' and a 'war criminal,' and wrote about the possibility of 'demolishing' Russian-speaking cities. Daniil Belousov has a disability related to central nervous system damage. Before his arrest, his father cared for him.