The prosecution has asked a court in Russia’s southwestern city of Rostov-on-Don to convict and sentence opera singer Vadim Cheldiyev to 11 years in prison for his role in organizing a massive rally against coronavirus restrictions in the entertainer’s native North Ossetia region in 2020.
The prosecutor also asked the Rostov regional court on June 29 to convict and sentence Cheldiyev's co-defendants, Ramis Chirkinov and Arsen Besolov, to nine years in prison each.
Cheldiyev is charged with distribution of false information about the pandemic, extremism, hooliganism, organization of mass disorder, and attacking a law enforcement officer. His co-defendants are charged with organizing an unsanctioned rally and mass disorder.
The trio went on trial in October. All three pleaded not guilty.
On April 20, 2020, police in Russia's North Caucasus region of North Ossetia detained dozens of protesters when about 2,000 people gathered in the central square of the regional capital, Vladikavkaz, demanding the resignation of then-regional leader Vyacheslav Bitarov, accusing him of “unnecessary anti-COVID restrictions.”
The rally was violently dispersed by police.
The protest was initiated online by Cheldiyev, who permanently resided in St. Petersburg at the time.
Cheldiyev was detained in St. Petersburg after the rally in Vladikavkaz and brought to North Ossetia, where he was arrested and charged.
Dozens of participants in the 2020 protest were sentenced to lengthy prison terms at separate trials since last year.