A court in Moscow handed down two-and-a-half-year prison sentence on Tuesday to a Russian human rights activist on charges of discrediting the Russian military.

Oleg Orlov is a senior member of the human rights group Memorial, which won the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize for monitoring human rights violations since the Soviet era.

Russian authorities charged Orlov last year with damaging the credibility of the military on social media. The activist had denounced Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

A Moscow court ordered Orlov to pay a fine of 150,000 rubles, or about 1,600 dollars, in October. But prosecutors appealed and called for a retrial.

Orlov consistently pleaded not guilty, but Tuesday's ruling gave him a heavier penalty.

After the verdict, Memorial issued a statement that the sentence is "an attempt to drown out the voice of the human rights movement in Russia and any criticism of the state."

The Kremlin is tightening its clampdown on anti-war activists and organizations. Ahead of the latest ruling, The Justice Ministry designated Orlov as a "foreign agent."