London imposes sanctions
Court upholds 25-year prison sentence for Kremlin critic Kara-Mursa
8/1/2023 3:39 am
Among other things, because he publicly spoke out against the war in Ukraine, Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Mursa is to be imprisoned for 25 years – in a penal colony with “strict prison conditions”. The judgment is also confirmed in the second instance.
A court in Russia has dismissed Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Mursa’s appeal against his 25-year prison sentence. “The judgment of the Moscow court of April 17 remains unchanged,” the court said on Monday, according to state news agencies. The 41-year-old Kara-Mursa was sentenced in April to 25 years in a penal colony with “strict conditions” for his criticism of the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
The verdict sparked international outrage. Kara-Mursa has been suffering from polyneuropathy for years, which his lawyers say was triggered by two poison attacks on him in 2015 and 2017. His lawyer said his client’s condition had deteriorated while he was in custody.
Kara-Mursa has repeatedly urged the US and Europe to impose individual sanctions on Russian officials over the years. In his last court appearance in April, he defended his statements on the Russian offensive in Ukraine. “Not only do I have no regrets about it – I’m proud of it,” he said. Britain has now announced sanctions against six Russians “who played a key role in the pathetic conviction” of Kara-Mursa. Accordingly, three judges, two prosecutors and one expert are affected by the sanctions.
Secretary of State James Cleverly called for Kara-Mursa’s immediate release. The denial of the appeal after the conviction for “fictitious allegations” shows “the perversion of the Russian regime,” Cleverly said. The sanctions sent a “clear message” that Britain “does not tolerate any of its citizens being treated in this way”. Kura-Mursa has both Russian and British citizenship. Almost all of Russia’s most prominent political opponents have either fled the country or are in prison.