KIROV, December 25. /TASS/. Former Defense Minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Igor Strelkov, who was sentenced to four years for inciting extremism, has filed an appeal requesting the reduction of the unserved portion of his sentence to the Kirovo-Chepetsk district court in the Kirov Region.

According to information from the court’s website, the documents concerning Igor Vsevolodovich Girkin (Strelkov’s legal name) "for the substitution of the unserved part of his sentence with a commuted penalty (excluding forced labor)" were submitted on December 24.

The criminal investigation into Strelkov was initiated on July 18, 2023; three days later, he was detained in Moscow. He was charged with encouraging extremist actions through his Telegram posts. He denied any culpability. According to his defense, there was no criminal intent to incite a large number of individuals to engage in extremist activities.

On January 25, the Moscow City Court sentenced Strelkov to four years in a penal colony. According to the ruling, on May 25, 2022, Strelkov read a report on E. Mikhaylov’s website, claiming that DPR People’s Militia servicemen were not receiving their pay. He verified this information through his own sources and subsequently made posts on his social media accounts referring to Mikhaylov’s website. In late May, the First General Court of Appeal upheld the sentence. On November 6, the Supreme Court of Russia rejected Strelkov’s appeal.

Strelkov is currently serving his sentence in a penal colony located in the Kirov Region.