A Moscow court on Monday (April 17) sentenced opponent Vladimir Kara-Mourza to 25 years in prison after a trial emblematic of the all-out repression in Russia against those who oppose the Kremlin offensive. in Ukraine.
Vladimir Kara-Mourza, close to the leading opponent Boris Nemtsov assassinated in 2015, was one of the last major Kremlin critics not behind bars or exiled abroad.
After a closed trial, the court announced that it found Vladimir Kara-Mourza guilty of “ high treason ”, of diffusion of “ fake news about the Russian army and illegal work for an organization “ undesirable “, according to an AFP journalist.
As a result, he was sentenced to a cumulative term of 25 years in a harsh regime penal colony, which implies stricter prison conditions. Either what the prosecution had requested. This is a sentence of unprecedented severity against an opponent in the recent history of the Russia.
Handcuffed in the cage assigned to the defendants, and dressed in blue jeans, a black t-shirt and a gray jacket, the 41-year-old opponent welcomed the verdict with a smile, before enjoining by gestures his supporters to write to him in prison.
Immediate international reactions
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called for the release “without delay” of the Russian opponent Vladimir Kara-Mourza sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison. “ No one should be deprived of their liberty for exercising their human rights, and I call on the Russian authorities to release him without delay. As long as he is detained, he must be treated with humanity and respect for his dignity. “, he said in a statement sent to the media. His condemnation “is another blow to the rule of law and civic space in the Russian Federation “, he said.
The European Union denounced the sentence “ scandalously harsh of 25 years in prison imposed on the Russian opponent Vladimir Kara-Mourza after a ” political trial “. The German government on Monday denounced with the greatest firmness » the sentencing of Russian opponent Vladimir Kara-Mourza to 25 years in prison. “ The United Kingdom will continue (…) to call for the immediate release of Mr. Kara-Mourza “said British Foreign Minister James Cleverly in a statement.
One of his lawyers, Maria Eismont, announced that Vladimir Kara-Mourza was going to appeal. “ It’s a terrible verdict, but it illustrates the great value of Vladimir’s action “, estimated Ms. Eismont, saying that her client remained in the mood “ valiant and thought ” sincerely having acted for the good of Russia “.
►Also listen: European of the week – Vladimir Kara-Mourza, first opponent sentenced in Russia for high treason
(With AFP)