A Moscow court on Friday sentenced adversary Ilya Yashin to eight and a half years in prison for criticizing the military offensive against Ukraine, after a trial that illustrated Russia’s repressive climate.
The charismatic 39-year-old was on trial for condemning a live intervention on YouTube, “Killing civilians“In the Ukrainian town of Bautza, near Kiev, the Russian military has been accused of abuses, which Moscow denies.
The court found the opponent guilty of broadcasting “fake news“On the army and sentenced him to eight and a half years in a penal colony, according to an AFP reporter, the prosecutor requested a nine-year sentence.
Mr. Ichin, wearing a turtleneck sweater and thin glasses, greeted the decision with a laugh, while his supporters booed in anger in the courtroom. “You’ll be out first! Don’t lose hope!“, began one of them. He arrived in court on Friday smiling, with a flurry of winks and hand gestures in the direction of his relatives, looking for an opportunity to joke.I think the judge didn’t want to read the verdict“, he began, while the magistrate slowed to enter the courtroom.
His trial in Russia was particularly noteworthy because he was one of the last prominent Russian dissidents not to flee his country or be imprisoned. Because in parallel with the intervention in Ukraine, the Kremlin is stepping up repression inside Russia, pursuing opponents of this military action.
Kremlin pet Alexei Navalny, who has been serving a life sentence since early 2021 after being poisoned, on Friday denounced a sentence “Shameful“, in a message on Instagram.
A sign of neighborhood tension, Mr. Ichin’s trial was marked by many overflows. During the trial in late November, a scuffle broke out in front of the courtroom, with court security agents tackling the opponent’s father to the floor. And Wednesday’s hearing was postponed due to bomb threats.
I love my country and am willing to sacrifice my freedom to live here
Mr. Iachine was arrested in June and taken into custody in July. The enemy was prosecuted on the basis of articles of the Criminal Code introduced shortly after the start of the offensive in Ukraine, and which “”contempt“Russian Army or”Disseminating false information“About his actions.
These texts are vague and their scope is very broad. Critics of the Kremlin see it as a “catch-all” tool“ All voices opposed to his military intervention in Ukraine must be suppressed.
Despite his arrest, Mr. He was highly critical of Ichin’s authorities and condemned the military offensive launched in February.
In early November, he accused Russian judges of “Servants“Give Power and Mr. Putin”A sense of impunity“.
During another interrogation, he explained his refusal to leave Russia: “I love my country and am ready to sacrifice my freedom to live here (…). I am a patriot“.
Mr. Yachin was close to his assassinated opponent Boris Nemtsov in 2015, but also against the corrupt Alexei Navalny.
His trial was part of several court cases against opposition politicians or individuals who criticized Russian intervention in Ukraine.
In July, an opposition municipal deputy in Moscow, Alexei Korinov, tried to spread the word.fake news“On the Russian military after being sentenced to seven years in prison for condemning the conflict in Ukraine.
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