Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza jailed over denouncing Ukraine war
Source: Associated Press
Kremlin critic jailed over denouncing Ukraine war
April 22, 2022
Russian authorities have opened a criminal case against a prominent opposition activist and remanded him in pre-trial detention Friday for allegedly spreading “false information” about the country’s armed forces.
A court in Moscow ordered Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr. held in detention until June 12. Lawyer Vadim Prokhorov told reporters that the false information case against Kara-Murza cited a March 15 speech to the Arizona House of Representatives, in which he denounced the war in Ukraine, as the basis for the latest charges. The activist rejects the accusations.
Russian media reported that similar charges were being drawn up against outspoken tech executive Ilya Krasilshchik, the former publisher of Russia’s top independent news site, Meduza. The moves against the two Kremlin critics are part of a widening crackdown against individuals speaking out against Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Russia adopted a law criminalizing spreading false information about its military shortly after its troops rolled into Ukraine in late February. The offense is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Human rights advocates so far have counted 32 cases targeting critics of the invasion.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-europe-media-1a951231cf6bcdc03d6304c3ef7e5dcc
FILE - Vladimir Kara-Murza, Russian opposition activist, arrives to lay flowers near the place where Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down, in Moscow, Russia, on Feb. 27, 2021. Russian authorities have opened a criminal case against prominent opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr. for allegedly spreading "false information" about the country's armed forces, his lawyer said Friday. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)