Russian Opposition Figure Vladimir Kara-Murza Jailed for 25 years
Police officers guard the Moscow City Court entrance prior to sentencing of Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, in Moscow, Russia, on Monday, April 17 Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP
On Monday, April 17, Moscow City Court sentenced opposition activist and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in a strict regime penal colony after finding him guilty of spreading 'fakes' about the Russian army, operating an 'undesirable' organization for working with the Open Russia Foundation, and committing high treason. 25 years is the maximum term that the court could impose on the politician - which was exactly the term that the prosecutor requested.
Vladimir Kara-Murza was detained in the courtyard of his own home on April 11,2022. The reason for the detention was the politician's speech at the Arizona State House of Representatives on March 15, 2022. According to the investigation, during the speech, Kara-Murza, "acting on grounds of political hatred," spread "deliberately false information" that the Russian military were bombing residential areas, maternity homes, hospitals and schools in Ukraine, which "caused substantial harm to the interests of the Russian Federation" - or so the report said. This is the first and so far the only case in which a Russian was charged with treason for his public statements listing publicly available facts. In reality, Vladimir did not give away any "secrets" in his public speeches - he talked about multiple election frauds and human rights violations in Russia, as well as called Russia an aggressor country in the war with Ukraine.
After Russian troops invaded Ukraine, Kara-Murza, along with other oppositionists and public figures, created the Russian Anti-War Committee. In particular, members of the committee called on the international community to declare as war criminals the Russian political leadership responsible for starting the war. Kara-Murza was the coordinator of the Open Russia movement, an organization recognized in Russia as "undesirable."
In his final statement at the session before the verdict, where onlookers and journalists were not allowed in, Kara-Murza addressed the judges: “At the stage of the defendant's testimony, the presiding judge reminded me that one of the mitigating circumstances is 'repentance of the deed.' And, although there's not much fun around me now, I couldn't hold back a smile. Criminals are supposed to repent of what they have done. I, on the other hand, am in prison for my political views. For speaking out against the war in Ukraine. For years of struggle against Putin's dictatorship. For promoting the adoption of personal sanctions under the "Magnitsky Act" against human rights violators. Not only do I not repent of any of this - I am proud of it,” he said.
Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza is escorted to a hearing in a court in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 8. He has been behind bars since his arrest a year ago. Photo: File/AP
Vadim Prokhorov, Kara-Murza's lawyer, emphasized in his interview for Current Time the illegality of the composition of this court. He explained that the person presiding over the trial, Judge Sergei Podoprigorov of the Moscow City Court, is famous for being one of the original defendants on the Magnitsky List.
The so-called Magnitsky Act was passed by the U.S. Senate in 2012, and envisaged visa denials and financial sanctions against Russian officials who, according to Washington, had been involved in the death of Hermitage Capital Foundation lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in a police detention center and other human rights violations. "It was Sergei Podoprigorov who chose the preventive measure for the Moscow lawyer Sergei Magnitsky who died in prison, and he was one of the first Russian judges to be included on that same sanctions list. Vladimir Kara-Murza was the main person who drafted, lobbied for, and got the act passed by the U.S. Congress,” said Prokhhorov.
"This is an obvious conflict of interest. If there was even a travesty of justice, [the judge] should have withdrawn from the process himself," he continued..
However, Vladimir Kara-Murza's wife, Yevgeniya, calls this not a conflict of interest, but a direct revenge on her husband, which began long before his arrest. In 2015 and 2017, Kara-Murza was hospitalized with symptoms of poisoning. The investigative group Bellingcat (recognized as a "foreign agent" in Russia) wrote that before his first hospitalization, Kara-Murza was followed by the same FSB officers as the murdered oppositionist Boris Nemtsov and Alexei Navalny. Kara-Murza pushed for a criminal investigation into his poisoning, but it was never opened.
Hundreds of opposition politicians and activists, as well as leaders of world powers, have commented and condemned Kara-Murza's conviction. In the press statement, the principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel commented as follows: "The United States condemns the sentencing of Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison for speaking out against the Russian government's war of aggression against Ukraine. Mr. Kara-Murza is yet another target of the Russian government's escalating campaign of repression…We reaffirm our solidarity with Mr. Kara-Murza and all brave advocates of a brighter future for Russia who are held unjustly, including Aleksey Navalny, Ilya Yashin, and many others who serve their country and their fellow citizens at great personal cost by boldly standing up for human rights and fundamental freedoms."