Russian opposition figure sentenced to 25 years in prison for war criticism
Mike Brest
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Outspoken Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced on Monday to serve 25 years in prison by a Moscow court after being found guilty of treason and other offenses, all of which he denied.
Kara-Murza’s sentence represents the harshest penalty for a critic of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and Western countries have already criticized his sentence. His legal team said it will appeal the case, according to Reuters.
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“Based on the results of the trial, for Vladimir Vladimirovich Kara-Murza, by partial addition of sentences, to be sentenced to a final sentence of imprisonment for a term of 25 years to be served in a strict regime correctional colony. The verdict of the Moscow City Court has not yet entered into force,” a statement from the court read.
Prosecutors accused the dissident of spreading “knowingly false information” about the Russian military’s actions in Ukraine. The Kremlin passed a law last year cracking down on speech critical of the war.
“I’m in jail for my political views. For speaking out against the war in Ukraine. For many years of struggle against Putin’s dictatorship,” he said at a hearing last week, according to the Washington Post, “Not only do I not repent of any of this, I am proud of it.”
After being sentenced, one of his lawyers said the opposition leader said, “My self-esteem has even risen. I realized that I have done everything right as a citizen and as a politician.”
In Russia’s judicial system, the court’s verdict was never really in doubt. The U.S. characterized Kara-Murza’s arrest as another victim in the Kremlin’s “escalating campaign of repression.”
“The United States condemns the sentencing of Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison for speaking out against the Russian government’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said in a statement. “Mr. Kara-Murza is yet another target of the Russian government’s escalating campaign of repression. We renew our call for Mr. Kara-Murza’s release, as well as the release of the more than 400 political prisoners in Russia. We reaffirm our solidarity with Mr. Kara-Murza and all brave advocates of a brighter future for Russia who are held unjustly, including Aleksey Navalny, Ilya Yashin, and many others who serve their country and their fellow citizens at great personal cost by boldly standing up for human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
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The European Union issued a statement also expressing affront at the “outrageously harsh court decision [that] clearly demonstrates yet again the political misuse of judiciary in order to pressure activists, human rights defenders and any voices opposing Russia’s illegitimate war of aggression against Ukraine.”
He was arrested nearly a year ago after he publicly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and said the global backlash the country received would bring an end to Putin in an interview on CNN. Kara-Murza accused the leaders of Russia of being a “regime of murderers.”