Kotov’s sentence is unprecedentedly brutal, even compared to the only other defendant ever convicted of the same offense

Kotov was found guilty of violating the so-called “Dadin Statute,” named after Ildar Dadin — the first and only other person ever convicted of committing this crime. The criminal code first appeared in 2014, and it’s faced unrelenting criticism from politicians and human rights advocates alike for both its excessive severity and the fact that it subjects defendants to double jeopardy, effectively retrying several misdemeanors as a single felony. Both Presidential Human Rights Council Chairman Mikhail Fedotov and Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova have called for the statute’s abolition.

Even Ildar Dadin’s sentence was just two years, despite the fact that he actually managed to participate in the final protest that led to his arrest and prosecution. Dadin’s verdict, moreover, was ultimately overturned, after major news reports about him being tortured in prison.

Konstantin Kotov is now the only person in all of Russia whose criminal record includes a violation of this statute.