Russia-Ukraine war: Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza sentenced to 25 years in prison for treason

Russian opposition politician and staunch critic of the Kremlin Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Kara-Murza was convicted of treason and other offenses that he described as politically motivated.

A court in Moscow on Monday convicted Kara-Murza of treason and other offenses, including discrediting the Russian military after spreading “knowingly false information” about the Russian military’s conduct in what Russia has often referred to the war as a “special military operation” in Ukraine. Kara-Murza has long been a critic of Russian leader Vladimir Putin and has successfully pushed Western governments to impose sanctions on Russia and individual Russians for human rights violations.

The court’s sentencing of Kara-Murza is the harshest since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year and since Putin took power in 1999. Kara-Murza told CNN hours before his arrest that Russia was run by a “regime of murderers.” Kara-Murza also used remarks in the United States and Europe to accuse Russia of bombing Ukrainian civilians, which Moscow has denied.

When the judge handed Kara-Murza his sentence, the opposition politician said, “Russia will be free” - the opposition’s slogan. According to one of Kara-Murza’s lawyers, Maria Eismont, Kara-Murza regarded the prison sentence as a recognition of his work. The sentiment was echoed by Kara-Murza’s wife, who said in a Twitter post that the time needed to be served reflected her husband’s “courage, consistency, and honesty.”

Kara-Murza’s wife also told a Washington Post event that the prison sentence her husband received was an indication of how the Russian authorities feared the opposition lawmaker.

Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of the G7 countries pledged to ramp up sanctions against Moscow during the three-day gathering at Karuizawa, Japan. The ministers all reiterated the need to continue supporting Ukraine in the war that has been going on for one year and nearly two months.

“There can be no impunity for war crimes and other atrocities such as Russia’s attacks against civilians and critical civilian infrastructure,” said the group in the communique. “We remain committed to intensifying sanctions against Russia, coordinating and fully enforcing them.”

“Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and its threat to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus are unacceptable,” the ministers added.