The Moscow City Court has sentenced Russian politician and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison.
The state prosecution asked the court at the hearing on 6 April to give him 25 years in total. In his closing speech, Kara-Murza stressed that he was placed in custody for his “political views”.
“For speaking out against the war in Ukraine. For a years-long fight against Putin’s dictatorship. For contributing to personal international sanctions against violators of human rights through the Magnitsky Act. Not only do I not repent any of these deeds, but I am also proud of them,” he said.
The trial was held behind closed doors.
Kara-Murza has been in custody since April 2022. He was facing three criminal charges: high treason, “fakes” about the Russian army, and running an “undesirable organisation” for working with Open Russia.
On 16 March, the politician’s lawyer said that Kara-Murza could not have been transferred from the detention facility to the court hearing over significant health complications. The motion to submit medical documents that specified that Kara-Murza had polyneuropathy (one of the conditions that rule out being placed in a detention centre) was denied.
On 22 February, the lawyer noted that the politician had been placed in a disciplinary cell for four days. According to him, the detention facility administration cited a violation of internal regulations as the reason.
