MOSCOW, March 9 (RAPSI) – A blogger from Chelyabinsk, Konstantin Zharinov, convicted of sharing a text by extremist group in VKontakte network, has appealed his sentence in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Kommersant newspaper reported on Wednesday.

This is the first time a Russian national is appealing sentence for republication of content in social network in the ECHR.

Zharinov was found guilty of republishing a text by Ukrainian extremist group “Right Sector”, an organization banned in Russia. He was given a suspended two-year prison sentence on September 28, 2015 and was amnestied on the same day.

Russian blogger believes that his case is politically motivated. Allegedly he was monitored and wiretapped by Russian authorities since March 2, 2014.

Right Sector is a Ukrainian association of radical nationalist organizations. In January and February 2014, they clashed with police and seized administrative buildings in Kiev. Since April 2014, Right Sector has been involved in fighting the protest movement in eastern Ukraine.

In November 2014, Russia’s Supreme Court declared Right Sector an extremist group and banned its activity in Russia. The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against Right Sector leader Dmitry Yarosh for the alleged incitement of terrorism.

In January 2015, Right Sector was added to the Russian register of prohibited organizations.