Vladimir Kara-Murza, an opposition activist, was sentenced to 25 years in prison in Russia on charges related to his criticism of the conflict in Ukraine.
He was convicted of treason for disseminating “false” information about the Russian army and associating with a “disreputable organization.”
Former Russian-British journalists and politicians are the latest opponent of Putin to be arrested or expelled from Russia. He has denied every accusation.
Mr. Kara-Murza, 41, has spent years criticizing Russian President Vladimir Putin and, in addition to the conflict in Ukraine, the government’s repression of dissent.
In a statement released last week, he said,
“I stand by every word I’ve spoken… I’m not only not sorry for any of this, but I’m also proud of it.”
“I know the day will come when the darkness that envelops our country will lift,” he added in online comments. When our society becomes aware of the atrocities committed in its name, it will open its eyes and shudder.
The 25-year sentence for Mr. Kara-Murza, which has been widely criticized, was the maximum sought by prosecutors and is the longest sentence handed down to an opposition figure since the start of the conflict in Ukraine.
In Russian courts, judgments and sentencing announcements can take a considerable amount of time. However, the judge ruled on the defendant’s case within minutes.
Mr. Kara-Murza will serve his sentence in a “strict regime correctional colony” and will be fined 400,000 roubles (approximately $4,900 or £4,000).
The severity of the sentence demonstrates that in contemporary Russia, the authorities are not only determined to muzzle critics but also to neutralize anything or anyone they perceive to be a threat to the political system.
The BBC was denied access to the courtroom, along with only a handful of correspondents from Russian state media and the defendant’s mother and attorney.
Instead, reporters and foreign ambassadors crowded into a separate chamber with two television screens to watch the proceedings.
Maria Eismon, his attorney, stated outside the court after the sentencing that the sentence was both “terrifying” and a “high appreciation” of her client’s work.
She stated,
“When [Mr. Kara-Murza] heard it had been 25 years, he remarked that his self-esteem soared because he realized he had been doing everything correctly!”
Alexei Navalny, the leader of the Russian opposition, also commented on Mr. Kara-Murza’s sentencing, calling it “revenge” by the Kremlin “for the fact that he did not die at one time” after he purportedly survived two poisonings by Russian authorities.
Mr. Kara-Murza was instrumental in convincing Western governments to impose sanctions on Russian officials for human rights violations and corruption.
A year ago, he was detained in Moscow for initially disobeying a police officer. Once he was in detention, he was charged with more grave offenses.
Mr. Kara-Murza’s case was based in part on a speech he gave to US legislators last year, in which he claimed that Russia was committing war crimes in Ukraine by using cluster bombs in residential areas and “bombing maternity hospitals and schools.”
These allegations have been independently corroborated, but Russian investigators have deemed them false, stating that the defense ministry “did not permit the use of prohibited means… of conducting war” and insisting that Ukraine’s civilian population was not a target.
At an event for political prisoners, Mr. Kara-Murza allegedly referred to Russia’s “supposed repressive policies,” according to investigators.
The week prior, a transcript of his speech to the closed court was made public, in which he compared his trial to a Stalin-era show trial from the 1930s.
“I only have myself to blame for one thing,” he stated.
“I was unable to persuade enough of my countrymen and democratic politicians of the danger posed by the current Kremlin regime to Russia and the world.”
His sentence has been widely criticized, and the British government has summoned its Russian ambassador and stated that it will examine ways to hold those responsible for Mr. Kara-Murza’s detention and “mistreatment” accountable.
The United Kingdom had previously sanctioned the presiding judge for prior involvement in human rights violations.
“Russia’s lack of commitment to protecting fundamental human rights, including freedom of expression, is alarming,” said British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.
According to AFP, the Russian Foreign Ministry criticized Britain’s response to Mr. Kara-Murza’s arrest as “direct interference in Russia’s internal affairs” on Monday evening.
After London demanded his urgent release, the ministry stated that the British ambassador made “unacceptable” remarks.
The United Nations and the United States Department of State have also condemned the verdict, with the latter characterizing Mr. Kara-Murza as “another victim of the Russian government’s intensifying campaign of repression.”
Group not-for-profit Human Rights Watch termed the verdict a “travesty of justice” and demanded that Russia “immediately vacate the verdict and unconditionally release him.”
Mr. Kara-Murza is descended from a well-known family of Soviet dissidents. Vladimir Sr.’s father was also a Kremlin critic.
He obtained British citizenship when he relocated with his mother to the United Kingdom as a teenager and attended Cambridge University.
Before becoming Boris Nemtsov’s adviser, he began his profession as a journalist. Nemtsov was another prominent Russian opposition leader and politician who was murdered in Moscow in 2015.
Mr. Kara-Murza contributed to the passage of the Magnitsky Act in the United States, a crucial piece of legislation that helped secure the adoption of sanctions against human rights violators in Russia.
After being poisoned twice, he relocated to the United States with his family to recover. Later, he returned to Russia, but he refused to depart after the invasion of Ukraine, despite the increasing danger for government opponents.
From November: ‘I adore and hate this man’
Evgenia, Vladimir Kara-Murza’s wife, told the BBC last year,
“I love and hate this man for his incredible integrity.”
“He had to be there with those people who went out onto the streets and were arrested,” she said, referring to the large number of Russians detained for opposing the conflict.
“He wanted to demonstrate that you shouldn’t be terrified in the face of such evil, and for that I have the utmost respect and admiration. And I am able to slay him!”
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