Russian dissident Volodymyr Kara-Murza, who faces 25 years in prison on treason charges, said Monday that he was “proud” of his political affiliation, during a statement at his trial, a symbol of the widespread crackdown. released by the authorities in Russia, AFP and Agerpres inform. A well-known critic of the Kremlin regrets that he could not make more people see the danger Putin represents to Russia and the whole world.
Recalling his position against Russia’s offensive in Ukraine and against Vladimir Putin, Kara-Murza said he signed “every word I said and what I am accused of in this indictment.”
“Not only do I not regret all of this, I am even proud of it,” added Kara-Murza in a final statement published on Telegram by journalist Oleksiy Venediktov, before the court handed down the verdict.
“I reproach myself for one thing (…) that I did not manage to sufficiently convince my compatriots and politicians from democratic countries of the danger that the current Kremlin regime represents for Russia and the world,” he added.
Russian prosecutors last week sought 25 years in prison for opposition leader Kara-Murza in the closed-door trial.
Volodymyr Kara-Murza has been charged with three serious charges: “treason”, spreading “false information” about the Russian army and illegal activities of an “unpopular” organization.
Kara-Murza has been in pre-trial detention center since April 2022 and is a longtime opponent of Vladimir Putin. He was on the brink of death after he said he was poisoned twice, in 2015 and 2017, in assassination attempts he blamed on Russian authorities.
According to his lawyer Vadym Prokhorov, the opponent suffers from polyneuropathy and neuromuscular pathology, which are the consequences of two poisonings.
Despite increasing pressure on opponents, Kara-Murza refused to leave Russia: until his arrest, he remained one of the last known critics of the Kremlin who did not flee the country and was not imprisoned.
“I also know that the day will come when the darkness covering our country will dissipate (…), when the criminals will be those who incited and started this war (in Ukraine), and not those who tried to stop it” , Kara-Murza said during this statement before the verdict was announced.
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Source: Hot News
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