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00:00 In this court in a suburb of Moscow, ordinary citizens are on trial for criticising Russia's
00:05 war against Ukraine. Lyudmila Bakhtina has come to defend her own son in front of the judges.
00:10 He could face 10 years in prison for posting messages online denouncing Moscow's decision to
00:17 invade. "He wouldn't hurt a fly. He's such a harmless person. He's an animal rights activist,
00:26 an ecologist. He has helped everyone all his life. And now they're accusing him of being a terrorist.
00:33 He didn't make the war up. He even published all these messages before this new law was introduced."
00:40 That law was approved by the government immediately after the large-scale invasion
00:47 of Ukraine. It makes it a crime to spread so-called fake news about the military.
00:51 In another suburb of Moscow, this retired engineer risks getting five years behind bars.
00:57 The 74-year-old staged a protest in front of the town hall to show his opposition to the war.
01:02 "They came to my home many times. I didn't let them into the apartment.
01:07 The FSB officers, the cops, they came and said, 'If you reject these recordings,
01:13 recognise all this as stupidity, we won't put you in jail.' And I told them, 'You know,
01:18 I think I've been charged under laws that contradict the constitution.
01:22 I consider them fascist. I'm not going to obey them.'"
01:24 His lawyer says cases like these are becoming more common by the day.
01:30 They say they'll defend themselves by citing freedom of expression,
01:33 guaranteed by the Russian constitution. According to one Russian rights group,
01:38 some 20,000 people have been arrested for protesting against Moscow's large-scale invasion of Ukraine.