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Russia’s prominent anti-war politician Lev Shlosberg has been sentenced to 11 years and one month in a penal colony for “discrediting” the country’s armed forces and “spreading false information” about them.<\/p>\n
Shlosberg, 63, condemned the verdict by a court in the city of Pskov, saying its only task was to “punish a person for his political, public and civil position”.<\/p>\n
His liberal political party Yabloko, which he is deputy head of, said it would appeal.<\/p>\n
The ruling came just minutes before Russia’s Supreme Court rejected Yabloko’s appeal against a ban on it taking part in September’s parliamentary elections.<\/p>\n
Yabloko was the only registered party to oppose Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine launched in 2022.<\/p>\n
Since the start of the invasion, any remaining opposition in Russia to President Vladimir Putin – who has been in power for nearly 27 years – has been crushed.<\/p>\n
Public shows of dissent have been suppressed by wartime censorship laws and can trigger hefty fines or long prison sentences.<\/p>\n
The court in Pskov, north-western Russia, delivered its verdict on Monday.<\/p>\n
It found Shlosberg guilty of “public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation”.<\/p>\n
The prosecution had demanded 12 years and one month in jail. The criminal charges were brought following Shlosberg’s comments published on social media.<\/p>\n
In his closing speech, Shlosberg again rejected all the charges, describing the trial as “an imitation of an investigation” in order to “achieve an obviously illegal goal”, according to a transcript published by the Novaya Gazeta newspaper.<\/p>\n
The opposition politician also repeated his call for a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war and the start of a “political dialogue”.<\/p>\n
He was repeatedly interrupted by the presiding judge.<\/p>\n
Yabloko was struck off the ballots earlier this month over accusations that the party publicly supports the “international LGBT movement”, which Russia’s Supreme Court designates as extremist.<\/p>\n
A lawsuit brought forward by pro-Kremlin nationalist party Rodina also argued that Yabloko was guilty of copyright infringement.<\/p>\n
Yabloko rejects all the accusations.<\/p>\n
All 10 other parties taking part in the 18-20 September election support the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
The latest ratings of the ruling United Russia slipped to 32.1% earlier this month – the lowest figure since May, according to Russia’s state-owned pollster VCIOM.<\/p>\n
Still, the Kremlin is widely believed to have the resources to deliver the outcome it wants at the election.<\/p>\n
Independent election watchdogs have been deprived of much of their ability to monitor and challenge the process.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n