The Moscow court sentenced dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison, as requested by the prosecution . Kara-Murza was tried for, among other things, treason for his criticism of the war in Ukraine.
He will serve his sentence in a maximum security prison.
The dissident was found guilty of treason, «dissemination of knowingly false information about the actions of the Russian armed forces and collaboration with an organization undesirable in Russia» .
The defense said it would appeal the ruling.
Kara-Murza, who holds Russian and British citizenship and studied at Cambridge University, was arrested in April 2022 and charged with spreading false information about the Russian military in Ukraine . He was also subsequently charged with "high treason" for a series of public speeches he made criticizing the Kremlin's policies and the war in Ukraine.
Today's sentence, notes the Guardian, is the longest sentence ever handed down to a political opponent of Vladimir Putin as the Kremlin further steps up its crackdown on dissent.
" Russia will be free, tell everyone ," shouted the dissident - 41 years old and with 3 children - after the sentence was read. In a final speech to the court last week Kara-Murza took on a defiant tone, vindicating everything he had said: « I only blame myself for one thing, I failed to convince my compatriots and the politicians of the democratic countries of the danger that the current Kremlin regime represents for Russia and for the world ».
The British government also intervened on the case and, precisely by virtue of the dissident's dual citizenship, summoned the Russian ambassador : "Russia's lack of commitment to the protection of fundamental human rights, including freedom of expression, is alarming". said British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly. "We continue to urge Moscow to adhere to its international obligations, including Vladimir Kara-Murza's right to adequate health care."
(Unioneonline/L)
