Two Russians have been sentenced to long prison terms for reciting poems against Russia’s war in Ukraine. The two men, aged 33 and 23 respectively, are convicted of “incitement to hatred and incitement to activities that threaten the security of the state”.
Artyom Kamardin was sentenced to seven years in prison, while Yegor Shtovba was sentenced to five and a half years. Russian citizens can face up to seven years in prison for reciting anti-war poems.
23-year-old Shtovba insisted during the trial that he had done nothing illegal.
What have I done that is illegal? Read poems? he told the district court.
The convicts were greeted by cheers from their supporters waiting outside the courtroom.
Russian authorities have imprisoned thousands of people who have peacefully protested the Russian invasion of Ukraine.