Status: 04/17/2023 9:30 p.m
Russian opposition leader Kara-Mursa has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for his criticism of the Ukraine war. The guilty verdict was sharply criticized internationally. Kara-Mursa himself is unimpressed.
Judge Sergei Podoprigorov read out a verdict against a prominent member of the opposition today, the likes of which has never been handed down in Russia: “Vladimir Kara-Mursa is found guilty. After adding up the partial sentences for all crimes, he will be sentenced to 25 years in a penal camp with strict regime, sentenced to a fine of 400,000 rubles and a ban from working as a journalist for seven years.”
At 25, the public prosecutor’s office had demanded the highest possible sentence, and the Moscow court followed suit. The actual trial took place behind closed doors – with gross procedural violations, according to lawyer Kara-Mursas.
The 41-year-old was convicted of high treason, spreading false information about the Russian army and collaborating with an “undesirable” organization.
Moscow court sentences Kremlin critic Kara-Mursa to 25 years in prison
Sabine Krebs, WDR, Mittagsmagazin 1:00 p.m., April 17, 2023
Oppositionists react angrily
After the verdict was announced, Oleg Orlov of the defunct human rights organization Memorial said:
The verdict is unjust, illegal, brutal and has nothing to do with the term ‘right’. And it totally contradicts the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which still guarantees rights and freedoms.
The verdict be bitter and sorry for his friend Vladimir Kara-Mursa. “Because this is an honest person who worked honestly in the interests of Russia and its citizens.”
Also convicted for criticizing the Ukraine war
As a journalist and politician, Vladimir Kara-Mursa was a determined political opponent of the Russian President for many years and a public critic of the war against Ukraine from the start – he was also convicted for this. Before the verdict was announced, a long queue formed in front of the courthouse: According to a court spokeswoman, 40 diplomats from 25 countries showed up.
“The court decision is an attempt to silence dissent in the country,” said US Ambassador Lynne Traceyc outside the courthouse. “We continue to demand his release. Criminalizing criticism of government actions is a sign of weakness, not strength.”
Kara-Mursa victim of poison attack twice
Twice, in 2015 and 2017, Kara-Mursa was the victim of poison attacks, an involvement of the Russian domestic secret service FSB has denied. Despite long-term health effects and massive neurological problems, the family man spent a year in custody and lost more than 20 kilograms in weight.
Honored last October by the Council of Europe with the Vaclav Havel Prize for his commitment to human rights, the convict compared the trial with procedures from the Stalin era. The official reaction from presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov was extremely brief: “You know, we never comment on court decisions. Not this time either.”
Criticism from many directions
The German government, the EU foreign policy chief and the UN human rights commissioner were different: they all protested against the verdict. Other prominent political prisoners did the same from their prison cells: Alexei Navalny and Ilya Yashin. He wrote on his Telegram channel: “The darkness doesn’t last forever, hold on, my friend.”
After the court ordered the 25-year prison sentence, attorney Maria Eismont announced she would appeal, summing up her client Kara-Mursa’s determined, almost defiant, response:
Upon hearing the verdict, he said: ‘My self-esteem has increased even more. I realized that I did everything right. That’s the highest mark for what I’ve done and what I’ve believed in – as a citizen, as a patriot, as a politician’.
25 years in prison for Russian opposition figure Kara-Mursa: The reactions
Frank Aischmann, WDR Moscow, April 17, 2023 9:24 p.m