A Moscow court today dismissed an appeal by Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin against a sentence sentencing him to 8.5 years in prison for slandering the military, a journalist who attended the court said.
At the same time, the court upheld the 8.5-year prison sentence handed down to him in December, which, according to the judge, remains “unchanged”, according to an AFP correspondent. Ilya Yashin, 39, was found guilty of spreading “false information about the Russian military.”
Yasin participated in the court hearing via video link from the pre-trial detention center where he is being held. The court denied the physical presence of the Russian politician in court.
“The feeling of moral superiority over the thieves and murderers who seized power gives me strength. They know that I am not afraid of them,” Yasin said at the hearing, according to a text posted by his group on Telegram.
“I know perfectly well that the only way to achieve a mitigation (sentence) is to repent, ask for forgiveness, confess and, in addition, turn in one of my comrades. This will not happen,” Yasin said.
“The feeling of responsibility for my country gives me strength. The pendulum of history is inexorable, and I realize that if I find myself free, I will be one of those who will have to clear this bloody mess, ”Yasin said in his speech.
A charismatic Russian politician and opponent of Putin has been convicted of exposing live on YouTube the “murder of civilians” in the Ukrainian city of Bucha near Kiev, where the Russian military is accused of atrocities that Moscow denies.
His trial aroused great interest in Russia, as he was one of the last known Russian dissidents who did not flee his country and end up in jail.
Along with its intervention in Ukraine, the Kremlin has ramped up repression inside Russia, hunting down those who question its military operation.
On Monday, Vladimir Kara-Murza, another Russian opposition politician who remained in Russia, was sentenced to 25 years in prison, including for “high treason”, the first time in recent Russian history since the persecution of the Soviet Union.
Source: APE-MPE, AFP, Reuters.
Source: Kathimerini
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