Dmitry Glukhovsky has been one of many to speak out against the ongoing invasion Russia has committed in Ukraine. The writer, who rose to prominence with the post-apocalyptic novel Metro 2033, was sentenced to 8 years in prison after being found guilty of spreading fake remarks regarding the Russian army.
According to the AP news agency, lawmakers passed a bill that banned the spreading of “false information” about the conflict that Russia started in Ukraine. As a result, people who violate this law could face up to 15 years in prison, if found they have been against Russia’s narrative of the war.
The sentence was the result of Dmitry Glukhovsky’s critiques to Russia’s armed forces and the invasion of Ukraine. He stated that the conflict “unleashed by Putin is becoming more terrible and inhuman every day, and the pretexts under which it was started look more and more insignificant and false.” The statement was made on an Instagram post while he was out of his home country.
In response, Russia’s Interior Ministry added the Metro 2033 writer to a federal wanted list and issued a search and arrest warrant against him. He was also labeled as a “foreign agent” in October last year, for his comments against the Kremlin.
As stated before, Metro 2033 is a post-apocalyptic novel that was adapted into video games in 2010. Dmitry Glukhovsky worked closely with Ukrainian studio, 4A Games for the release of the adaptation and its eventual sequels. The studio affirmed that they are planning to tell a bigger story considering the impact of the wark in Ukraine.