A top Kremlin foe was convicted Monday on charges of treason and denigrating the Russian military and sentenced him to 25 years in prison after a trial that marked the latest move in a relentless crackdown on the opposition amid the fighting in Ukraine.
Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., a prominent opposition activist who twice survived poisonings he blamed on the Kremlin, has been behind bars since his arrest a year ago. He has rejected the charges against him as political and likened the judicial proceedings against him to the show trials during the rule of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.
In his final statement last week, Kara-Murza said that he remains proud of standing up to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “dictatorship” and his decision to send troops into Ukraine.
“I know that the day will come when the darkness engulfing our country will clear,” Kara-Murza said in remarks last week that were posted on social networks and Russian opposition media. “And then our society will open its eyes and shudder when it realizes what terrible crimes were committed in its name.”
The charges against Kara-Murza stem from his March 2022 speech to the Arizona House of Representatives in which he denounced Russia’s military action in Ukraine. Investigators added the treason charges while he was in custody.
Kara-Murza, a journalist, was an associate of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who was killed near the Kremlin in 2015.
Sweeping ‘false information’ law
Kara-Murza survived poisonings in 2015 and 2017 that he blamed on the Kremlin. Russian officials have denied responsibility.
Russian authorities denied involvement in the incidents. Kara-Murza’s lawyers say that as a result, he suffers from a serious nerve disorder called polyneuropathy.
WATCH / Kara-Murza, to CBC News, condemns Kremlin on eve of Ukraine invasion:
Prominent Russian activist Vladimir Kara-Murza says many Russians oppose military action against Ukraine but dissent is being crushed by the state.
Canada and other Western governments condemned Monday’s sentence.
“Three decades ago, a free and democratic Russia struggled to come into being. oday’s verdict is a sad testament to the dark turn this struggle has come to,” said Alison LeClaire, Canada’s ambassador to Russia. “Regardless of this verdict, freedom-minded people in this country and all over the world recognize Vladimir Kara-Murza as a man of honour and conscience, a resolute defender of civil and political rights, and an ally of the people in their struggle for a free and democratic Russia.”
The British government summoned its Russian ambassador over the sentencing of Kara-Murza, who also holds a U.K. passport.
“Russia’s lack of commitment to protecting fundamental human rights, including freedom of expression, is alarming,” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement. “We continue to urge Russia to adhere to its international obligations including Vladimir Kara-Murza’s entitlement to proper health care.”
Russia adopted a law criminalizing spreading “false information” about its military days after it sent troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. Authorities have used the law to stifle criticism of what the Kremlin calls “a special military operation.”
Another prominent opposition figure, Ilya Yashin, was sentenced to 8½ years in prison late last year on charges of discrediting the military.
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