Russian opposition activist and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza, in pre-trial detention for a year and charged with treason and two other criminal charges, was sentenced Monday (17) by a Russian court to 25 years in to be served in a high-security prison.
The dissident’s sentencing generated great anticipation and gathered around 100 journalists and diplomats at Moscow’s Urban Court building.
In his last speech last week, Kara-Murza assured that he has “no regrets” and loves Russia.
“I am imprisoned for my political position, for being against the war in Ukraine, for my long struggle against the dictatorship of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” said the oppositionist.
He said he was proud to have been introduced into politics by oppositionist Boris Nemtsov, assassinated in 2015 near the Kremlin.
Today, the court also fined Kara-Murza ₽400,000 (US$5,000) and banned him from practicing journalism for seven years.
The 41-year-old dissident was convicted of high treason, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison, disseminating false information about the Russian Army’s actions in Ukraine, and cooperating with an NGO declared undesirable by the Russian courts.
The judge thus met the demand of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of 25 years in prison for Kara-Murza.
The defense has already announced that it will appeal the decision.
“We believe that during the judicial process, several mistakes were made, and we will appeal,” said lawyer Maria Eismont, quoted by the official Russian news agency TASS.
According to the lawyer, Kara-Murza reacted to the ruling by saying it proves his value as a “citizen and politician.”
Several dozen independent journalists have previously demanded Vladimir Kara-Murza’s release in a letter, denouncing the charges as “unfounded” and “cynical” and the legal proceedings opened against the oppositionist as a politician.
“Kara-Murza is an authentic patriot who in the early days of the war already spoke out against Russian aggression (…). But today in Russia, defending peace and the end of the war is a crime,” the letter pointed out.
According to the American ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, “criminal proceedings against critics of the regime are a sign of weakness, not strength.”
The British ambassador to Moscow, Deborah Bronnert, said she was dismayed by the decision, which she related to Kara-Murza’s “courageous statements” against intervention in Ukraine.
Recently, lawyers for the opponent, considered a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, reported that Kara-Murza had been diagnosed in prison with polyneuropathy in his lower limbs due to the two intoxications he suffered in 2015 and 2017.
According to the opponent’s defense, his illness worsened during pre-trial detention and prevents him from serving his sentence.
According to the investigative website “Bellingcat,” Kara-Murza had already been prosecuted by the same Federal Security Service unit that later poisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny, serving eight years in prison.
In October 2022, he was honored with the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize, awarded by the Council of Europe.
With information from Gazeta do Povo