(Reuters) -Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin guilty was sentenced by a court to eight-and-a-half years in prison on Friday on charges of spreading “fake information” about the army.
Yashin was tried over a YouTube video released in April in which he discussed evidence uncovered by Western journalists of Russian atrocities in Bucha, near Kyiv, and cast doubt on the official Moscow version that such reports had been fabricated as a “provocation” against Russia.
Russia passed new legislation after it sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 that provides for jail terms of up to 15 years for disseminating false information about the military.
In his final statement to the court earlier this week, Yashin appealed directly to President Vladimir Putin, describing him as “the person responsible for this slaughter” and asking him to “stop this madness”.
“Looking at the consequences of this monstrous war, you yourself probably realise what a grave error you committed on Feb. 24. Our army isn’t being greeted with flowers. They call us punishers and occupiers. The words ‘death’ and ‘destruction’ are now firmly associated with your name,” he said.
“You have brought terrible misfortune to the Ukrainian people, who will probably never forgive us.”
Since the start of the conflict, Russia has moved to quash almost all forms of dissent, with most of its prominent opposition figures either in jail or exile.
Yashin, 39, also urged his supporters to stay cheerful.
“Please don’t fall into despair and don’t forget that this is our country,” he said in his final statement. “It is worth fighting for. Be bold, don’t give way to evil, and resist.”
(Writing by Mark Trevelyan and Jake Cordell; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
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