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Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Kremlin opponent, was imprisoned for 25 years for treason

A Moscow court found outspoken Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza guilty of treason and other crimes on Monday and sentenced him to 25 years in prison—the worst punishment of its type since Russia invaded Ukraine. He had contested the charges.

Kara-Murza, a 41-year-old opposition politician and father of three who possesses both Russian and British passports, campaigned Western governments for sanctions against Russia and specific Russian citizens for alleged human rights crimes for years.

He was charged of treason and defaming the Russian military by state prosecutors, who asked the court to sentence him to 25 years in prison, after he criticized what Moscow refers to as its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Before being detained, Kara-Murza said that a “regime of murderers” was in charge of Russia in an interview with CNN. Additionally, he had used lectures in America and throughout Europe to accuse Moscow of hitting civilian targets in Ukraine—an accusation it has denied.

Kara-Murza compared his own trial, which was held in secret, to Josef Stalin’s show trials in the 1930s in his final speech to the court last week. He also declined to beg the court to exonerate him, saying he stood by and was proud of all he had said.
Criminals are expected to feel regret for their actions. On the other side, I’m incarcerated due to my political beliefs.

I also know that the day will come when the darkness over our country will dissipate,” he had said. Shortly after sending tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February last year, Russia introduced sweeping wartime censorship laws which have been used to silence dissenting voices across society.

Presently, distributing intentionally false information about the army can result in a 15-year prison term, while “discrediting” it can result in a five-year prison sentence.

Pro-government politicians emphasize the importance of societal cohesion during what they have framed as an existential war with the West and have characterized Russian citizens who are critical of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine as being part of a pro-Western movement.

A fifth column is attempting to sabotage the military operation.

In 2015 and 2017, Kara-Murza claimed that Russian security services poisoned him twice, causing him to get suddenly ill. Both times, he went into a coma before waking up.

The incidents’ involvement was denied by Russian authorities. Kara-Murza’s attorneys claim that as a result, he has polyneuropathy, a severe nerve condition.

(Reuters)

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