Russia Finds a War Critic Guilty of ‘Spreading False Information’
12/9/2022
A Russian court on Friday sentenced an opposition politician, Ilya Yashin, to eight and a half years in prison after finding him guilty on charges of “spreading false information” about atrocities committed in the Ukrainian city of Bucha by Russian troops in February and March.
Mr. Yashin, who pleaded not guilty, is among the highest-profile opposition politicians remaining in Russia.
Before his arrest in July, he spoke about the war on his YouTube channel, often voicing criticism of President Vladimir V. Putin and his “special military operation.” While many Putin critics have fled Russia, especially immediately after its invasion of Ukraine, Mr. Yashin vowed to remain, even if it meant serving prison time.
Prosecutor Sergei Belov told the Meshchansky District Court in Moscow that Mr. Yashin had spoken “indiscriminately” about the coverage of the war by the Russian news media, and instead cited news produced by outlets from “unfriendly states: the United States and its satellites” that “supply instructors and weapons to Ukraine.”
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