Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr. (Wikipedia)
Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., a Russian Jewish political dissident who says that he was twice poisoned by Russian authorities because of his political activism, was sentenced to 25 years in jail by a Russian court on Monday. Kara-Murza Jr. was convicted of treason simply because he publicly criticized Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine that began at the end of February 2022.
And this is why he was charged with treason. In March 2022, just after the start of the invasion, Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr. spoke before the Arizona House of Representatives about the war saying, “There are millions of people in my country who fundamentally reject and fundamentally disagree with everything that the Putin regime represents and stands for, from the kleptocracy and thievery to the abuses and the repressions and the crimes against humanity that are being committed.”
So, this is what constitutes treason in Russia.
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“I know that the day will come when the darkness engulfing our country will clear,” Kara-Murza Jr., said at the end of his trial. “And then our society will open its eyes and shudder when it realizes what terrible crimes were committed in its name.”
AP reported that Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr.’s lawyer Maria Eismont quoted him as telling her, “My self-esteem has risen: I realized that I have done everything right. Twenty-five years is the highest appraisal that I could get for doing what I did and what I believed in, as a citizen, a patriot and a politician.”
His wife, Evgenia Kara-Murza, tweeted about her husband’s sentence, “A quarter of a century is an “A+” for your courage, consistency and honesty in your years-long work. I am infinitely proud of you, my love, and I’m always by your side.”
