Lev Shlosberg, vice president of the liberal Yabloko party, was sentenced by Russian justice to 11 years and one month in a penal colony, and the party was banned from participating in the parliamentary elections in September, reports Reuters following the decisions made by the court on Monday.
After condemning the war in Ukraine, Lev Shlosberg was accused of discrediting the Russian armed forces and spreading false information about them.
In a final plea before the court on Friday, in Pskov, the anti-war politician maintained his innocence, stated that he was the victim of a political trial, and reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire in the war in Ukraine.
Last Monday, the Supreme Court of Russia rejected the appeal against the ban it imposed on August 10 to prevent the entry of the Yabloko party into the parliamentary elections next month.
Apple, the only registered political party calling for an end to the war, was subjected to strong pressure from the authorities in the run-up to the elections, where a vote against the war could have put the Kremlin in difficulty.
Details, HERE