The prominent Russian opponent of the Kremlin Vladimir Kara-Mursa has been sentenced in Moscow to 25 years in prison for high treason. The city court handed down the controversial verdict on Monday against the opposition leader, who had also sharply criticized Russia’s war against Ukraine. It is the highest penalty ever imposed on an opposition figure in Russia. The 41-year-old, who survived poison attacks, is considered one of the harshest critics of Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin.
The court agreed to the request of the public prosecutor, who had requested the sentence at the beginning of April. According to his lawyer Maria Eismont, the politician is in poor health. She said recently that her client had lost 17 kilograms in custody.
Kara-Mursa was also accused of discrediting the Russian army. State media, citing investigators, had claimed that the former journalist had helped organizations from NATO countries to undermine Russia’s national security for a fee of around 30,000 euros a month.
Twice narrowly survived mysterious poisonings
The prominent opponent of Putin barely survived mysterious poisoning twice. According to research by the investigative group Bellingcat, Kara-Mursa was being pursued by the same FSB agents who are said to have been involved in the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
The politician Kara-Mursa was awarded the Council of Europe’s prestigious Vaclav Havel Prize last year. It takes incredible courage to stand against authority in today’s Russia, Parliamentary Assembly President Tiny Kox said in October. Kara-Mursa’s wife accepted the human rights award. She read a statement from him, according to which he dedicates the profit to all those who rebelled against the Ukraine war in Russia.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has been awarding the Vaclav Havel Prize since 2013 for commitment to human rights. The prize is worth 60,000 euros and is named after the late civil rights activist and former President of the Czech Republic.
