Kara-Murza’s 25 years in prison after his condemnation of the Crimes of Crime against the Fundamental Rights of the Vlasov Dissident
Vladimir Kara-Murza, a prominent Russian human rights advocate and Kremlin critic, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after publicly condemning Moscow’s war in Ukraine, Russian state news agency TASS reported on Monday.
The sentencing will likely draw further international condemnation of Putin. Hugh has said that the dissident was facing prison time for speaking his mind and raising his voice in protest of the actions of the Russian government.
Monday’s sentencing draws further attention on Putin’s brutal crackdown against freedom of expression, which has intensified since he invaded Ukraine last February.
In 2012 the charge of treason in Russia was expanded to include any kind of assistance to a foreign state or international organization. It was used against Kara-Murza over his condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In March, the United States imposed sanctions on a number of Russian individuals connected to what the Treasury Department called Kara-Murza’s “arbitrary detention” and called for his “immediate and unconditional release.”
The original legislation, signed into law in December of 2012 forbids entry to the US and freezes all assets of those who are suspected of violating the human rights of others. Expanding the law gave global scope to the Russia-focused legislation.
Kara-Murza: The Day Comes When Dark Will Go Away in the Kremlin and Russia’s First Judgment
Kara-Murza said he blamed himself for not being able to convince enough of his “compatriots” and politicians of democratic countries of the danger that the current regime in the Kremlin poses for Russia and the world.
The day will come when darkness will go away, he said. “Even today, even in the darkness surrounding us, even sitting in this cage, I love my country and believe in our people,” he added. “I believe that we can walk this path.”
“For a person who has not committed any crimes, acquittal would be the only fair verdict,” Kara-Murza said at the closing session of his trial on Monday. No, I do not ask this court for anything. I know what the decision is. I knew it a year ago when I saw people in black uniforms and black masks running after my car in the rearview mirror. Such is the price for speaking up in Russia today.”
The health of Kara-Murza has been a concern throughout the trial, with the dissident losing 37 pounds and suffering from numbness in his limbs.
While in pretrial detention, a doctor diagnosed the condition as polyneuropathy — a malfunctioning of peripheral nerves throughout the body. It’s a condition that can be caused by diseases, drugs or toxins.
Boris Nemtsov, the Secret Service of Kara-Murza, and the Emergence of the Second Cold War in the United States
“Given the sophisticated type of poison, I think it’s people who have been or are connected with the Russian special services,” he told NPR in a 2017 interview.
Indeed, Kara-Murza has been no stranger to the risks of opposition politics in Russia. Boris Nemtsov, his friend and mentor, was murdered in Moscow in 2015.
Kara-Murza formed a close friendship with Arizona Sen. John McCain in pushing for the legislation — later serving as a pallbearer at McCain’s funeral in 2018.
Yet, even from pretrial detention, Kara-Murza maintained a public presence — authoring opinion pieces for the Washington Post in which he expressed confidence that Russia would ultimately emerge from the latest repressive chapter in its history.