The Russian Court of Appeals upheld the eight-and-a-half-year prison sentence of oppositionist Ilya Yashin, who was convicted in December for criticizing Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine. Yashin stated that he was in prison for “telling the truth” and claimed that the sentence was “unbelievable” due to the fact that he was sentenced for a 20-minute speech on the Internet. He further charged that in prison he had met criminals who received lesser sentences for their crimes. Last year, Yashin called the deaths of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha a “massacre” and was convicted of spreading “false information” about the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
Yashin was one of the few prominent opponents not yet in exile or prison, but the Russian authorities have stepped up their legislative arsenal to silence critical voices. Several individuals have already been convicted for allegedly publishing false information or discrediting the military. Yashin said that sooner or later, the “thieves and murderers” would be ousted from power and he would be part of those who would build a new Russia. Before the court, he claimed that, once free, he would be one of those who would have to clean up the “bloody mess” left by the current rulers.
On Monday, a Russian court sentenced another Kremlin critic, Vladimir Kara-Murza, to 25 years in a high-security prison for “high treason” and spreading “false information” about the Russian military. The sentence imposed on Kara-Murza is the most severe in the country’s recent history against an opponent. In short, the confirmation of the sentence against Yashin and the sentence imposed on Kara-Murza are examples of the Russian government’s increasing repression of dissent and freedom of expression in the country.