On Monday, Putin‘s critic and the leader of the opposition, Vladimir Kara-Murza was convicted of treason by a Russian court. Here is everything you need to know.
Vladimir Kara-Murza, convicted of treason
On Monday, Moscow city court found Vladimir Kara-Murza of treason. As per the Interfax, it was for spreading “false information about the Russian army,” and his affiliation with an “undesirable organization.” The 41-year-old’s trial was held behind closed doors. As per Mediazona, a Russian news site, several supporters of Kara-Murza and foreign diplomats attended the hearing. US embassy official David Bernstein was among the notables. According to Avtizak.info, an independent news site, Kara-Murza was quoted saying “Russia will be free, tell everyone,” following the verdict.
Though born in Russia, the 41-year-old holds dual British-Russian citizenship. He moved to the UK with his mother at the age of 15 and received citizenship. As per reports in the Moscow Times newspaper, he is suffering from polyneuropathy, a neural condition. According to his lawyers, it is due to poisoning attempts earlier in 2015 and 2017. They revealed his condition worsened during his prison stay.
More on the happenings in Russia
Since the invasion of Ukraine started, Russia is busy closing down even a fraction of dissent against the war. The politician was detained in April last year on the charges of “spreading false information about the Russian army,” during his address to US state legislators. He denounced Russia’s military action in Ukraine during his speech to the Arizona House of Representatives on March 15.
However, the authorities added treason as a charge while he was in custody. Shortly after invading Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Russia adopted a law criminalizing the spreading of “false information.” Hence authorities are using the law to suppress any criticisms of Putin’s “special military operation.”