MOSCOW The courtroom of Meshchansk in Moscow was packed to capacity when the judge Oksana Goryunova read the opposition politician Ilya Yashinin judgment.
Not all those willing could fit in the hall, and the space where the session was broadcast on a television screen was also crowded. The session started almost two hours late.
It is one of the most prominent lawsuits filed under strict “fake news” laws enacted shortly after the start of the Russian invasion.
In his YouTube program in April (you will switch to another service) Yashin spoke about the bloodshed in Bucha, Ukraine, which is blamed on the Russian forces occupying the city.
Prosecutor Sergei Beglov demanded a nine-year prison sentence for Jašin.
It was not a big surprise that Judge Gorjunova upheld the charge, finding that Yashin had knowingly spread false information about the use of the Russian armed forces motivated by political hatred.
He sentenced the politician to 8.5 years in prison.
The judge also accepted the prosecutor’s request that Jašin is not allowed to manage websites for four years after his sentence.
It is the most severe punishment under the new laws so far. Previously, the opposition city councilor had received the longest sentence Alexei Gorinov. Arrested in April, Gorinov was sentenced to seven years in prison in July.
– With this hysterical verdict, those in power want to scare us all, but in reality they are only showing their own weakness, Jašin said in his statement published on the channel of the Telegram messaging service shortly after the session.
Charges are rarely dismissed in Russiaespecially when it comes to opposition activists.
The Russian authorities have tried to make the presentation of anti-war views as expensive as possible.
The biggest protests against the war were seen in February-March and at the end of September after the declaration of the movement, but the authorities have largely succeeded in suppressing the most visible anti-war movement.
According to opinion polls, a large majority of Russians express their support for military action, as far as the survey results can be trusted in the conditions of the current strict legislation.
On the other hand, individual demonstrations and arrests are constantly reported.
In his final speech at the trial Jašin pointed out that he met a man in the remand prison who was sentenced to eight years in prison for murder.
– Two stab wounds to the heart, one to the liver. If I were accused of murder, the prosecutor would give me a shorter sentence, Jašin said.
Jašin has been in pretrial detention since last July.
Yashin’s defense said that in his broadcast, the politician presented different points of view from different sources on the events of Butsha: both the Ukrainian version and the position of the Russian Ministry of Defense.
According to the defense, the prosecutor did not prove that Jašin had spoken untruthfully about the events in Butša, and the Russian Ministry of Defense’s statement alone is not enough.
Prosecutor Beglov said he noticed an anti-Soviet stance in Yashin’s defense.
– Anti-Russian, the prosecutor corrected his words, when there was laughter in the hall, The Mediazona site told (you are switching to another service).
In the youth organization of the liberal Jabloko party Jašin, who started his political career, has been one of the most famous opposition politicians who have tried to operate in Russia.
A large number of opposition politicians and independent journalists have left Russia since the president Vladimir Putin declared a so-called special military operation against Ukraine in February.
The authorities started tightening the screws spectacularly already last year, when the opposition leader Alexei Navalny was sentenced to prison for parole violations. Navalny’s organizations were banned.
When President Putin launched an open war of aggression against Ukraine in February, there were no established opposition structures left to organize protests.
Since then, the grips have tightened even more.
In October, the authorities even charged an opposition politician with treason Vladimir Kara-Murzaa against. A charge of knowingly spreading false information has already been brought against him. Kara-Murza is in pre-trial detention.
Closing speech for Ilja Jašin in court was an opportunity to summarize his political message, perhaps for the last time in a long time.
Jašin also aimed his words at Putin. He said that Putin himself must realize what a grave mistake he made on February 24 when he ordered a large-scale attack on Ukraine.
– Our army is not welcomed with flowers. We are called members of death squads and occupiers. The words “death” and “destruction” are closely associated with your name now, Jašin addressed Putin.
– You brought a terrible misfortune to the people of Ukraine, who will probably never forgive you. But you are not only at war with Ukrainians, but with your own countrymen.
Yashin said Putin is leading hundreds of thousands of Russians into the hell of war, many of whom will never return home, many who will return maimed and many who will lose their minds because of the horrors they saw.
– For you, this is just loss statistics, numbers in columns. But for a large number of families, it is an unbearable pain of lost men, fathers and sons, Jashin continued, calling on Putin to stop the war immediately.
Jašin urged his supporters not to despair.
– Believe me, Russia will be free and happy, he finished his speech.
This is exactly what Aleksei Navalnyi assured in his own speech in court in February 2021.
On the subject earlier:
Russian opposition politician Ilya Yašin will soon be sentenced for “spreading false information” — this story tells what the case is about 5/12/2022