A Moscow court sentenced prominent Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison on Monday, for treason and “discrediting” the armed forces, after he condemned Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
The unusually harsh sentence imposed on Kara-Murza sends a stern message to other critics of the Russia-Ukraine War. According to the sources, Kara-Murza was found guilty of treason, spreading false information about the Russian army, and being linked to an “undesirable organisation.”
Overview
Kara-Murza, 41, had spoken out against Putin for years and decried the human rights violations in Ukraine after the war began. He also criticised the Russian government’s crackdown on the opposition, and successfully persuaded Western countries to impose sanctions on Russia for alleged human rights violations. He has given several speeches in the US and Europe, accusing Russia of bombing civilians in Ukraine, an allegation Moscow denies.
He was arrested in April 2022 after criticising the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but was charged with treason in October. On Monday, he appeared in court for his final verdict, ruling that he would serve his time in a “strict regime correctional colony” and pay a $4,900 fine.
I condemn the sentencing of my friend Vladimir Kara-Murza @vkaramurza to 25 years in prison & call for his immediate release. He is a brave & intelligent voice of reason opposing Putin's inhuman regime & the aggression against 🇺🇦. This sentence is yet another mockery of justice. pic.twitter.com/jW5hoVeLPw
— Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya (@Tsihanouskaya) April 17, 2023
In a CNN interview broadcast hours before he was arrested, Kara-Murza had alleged that Russia was being run by a “regime of murderers.”
In his final statement to the court last week, Kara-Murza compared his trial to Joseph Stalin’s show trials in the 1930s and declined to ask the court to acquit him, saying he stood by, and was proud of, everything he had said.
“I know that day will come when the darkness engulfing our country will clear,” he said.
Western Nations Condemn Sentence
On Monday, the UK Foreign Office denounced the sentence as politically motivated, while the EU called it “outrageously harsh.” The UK had already sanctioned Sergey Podoprigorov, the judge who presided over Kara-Murza’s trial, for previous involvement in human rights violations.
British ambassador to Russia Deborah Bronnert attended the hearing and described the case as “shocking.” She stated that Kara-Murza had been punished for bravely speaking out against Russia’s conflict in Ukraine and demanded his release. The “British government expresses solidarity with Vladimir Kara-Murza and his family,” said Bronnert.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement that Russia’s “lack of commitment to protecting fundamental human rights, including freedom of expression, is alarming.”
'Expressions of concern are no longer enough': Wife of Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr slams UK government's 'weak' response to husband's arrest https://t.co/U0PjcuAvsv
— LBC News (@LBCNews) April 17, 2023
The US State Department and the UN denounced the decision, saying Kara-Murza was “yet another target of the Russian government’s escalating campaign of repression.”
U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy said, “Criminalisation of criticism of government action is a sign of weakness, not strength.”
Russia’s Response
On Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the Russian government never comments on court decisions, and “we will not do so this time, either.”
As reported by the AFP, the Russian Foreign Ministry criticised Britain’s response to Kara-Murza’s arrest, describing it as “direct interference in the internal affairs of Russia.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova criticised Western diplomats’ intervention, and said they might be called in to be reminded of what “diplomats should and shouldn’t do.”