The Moscow City Court on December 14 cancelled a lower court's decision to fine veteran human rights defender Oleg Orlov 150,000 rubles ($1,660) for the "repeated discrediting of Russia's armed forces" involved in the invasion of Ukraine. The court sent Orlov's case back to prosecutors, who already appealed the previous ruling, saying the sentence was too mild. They have requested three years in prison for Orlov. Orlov's lawyers insist that their client is innocent. The charge against Orlov stemmed from his interview with the French magazine Mediapart, in which he condemned Russia's war against Ukraine.