Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Mursa has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for alleged “high treason” and “spreading false information” about the Russian army. It is the longest prison sentence that has been imposed on a government critic in Russia. The verdict was “absolutely outrageous,” lawyer Vadim Prokhorov told DW.
The historian and former journalist Kara-Mursa has long been hated by the Putin regime. In 2015 and 2017 he collapsed with symptoms of poisoning. He now suffers from a nervous disease which, according to his lawyer, was triggered by two attempts at poisoning. His supporters spoke of attacks against him, and the Kremlin denied any involvement in them.
“Basically a death sentence”
“Under the conditions in the pre-trial detention centers in north-west Moscow, the disease has worsened. It is clear that, given his state of health, this is basically a death sentence,” Prokhorov said. “But even two to three years in prison, in a maximum security prison, could be fatal for him in his current state of health.”
Kara-Mursa was arrested in April 2022 after harshly criticizing the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In an interview with the US broadcaster CNN, he described Russia’s actions as aggression and the Russian state power as a murderous regime.
Alexei Navalny – in custody after the attack
In addition to Kara-Mursa, other members of the opposition have also had to be imprisoned in the past – or have been suspected of being poisoned. One of the most well-known Kremlin critics is Alexej Navalny. The 46-year-old opposition figure and activist survived an attack with the neurotoxin Novichok in 2020 – and then recovered from it in Germany. In 2021 he flew to Moscow, was arrested at the airport and shortly afterwards sentenced to several years in a prison camp for alleged fraud.
Supporters of Alexei Navalny in front of the Russian embassy in Berlin: The critic is said to be doing worse and worse in prison
The detention conditions there are considered particularly harsh. According to his lawyer Vadim Kobsev in mid-April, the Kremlin critic’s health is steadily deteriorating. He does not rule out that Navalny will be made ill again. His lawyer is now demanding a toxicological and radiological examination of his client. Navalny himself blames Russian President Vladimir Putin for the attack, and the Kremlin rejects the allegations.
Yevgeny Roisman – a “foreign agent”
He was considered one of the last known critics of Putin at large: the opposition member and former mayor of Yekaterinburg, Yevgeny Roisman. In November, the Justice Department classified him as a so-called foreign agents a.
In mid-March he was sentenced to 14 days in prison for allegedly spreading extremist symbolism. Roisman is said to have shared a video of the sentencing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny on the Russian social network VKontakte (vk.com), which featured the emblem of his Anti-Corruption Fund (FBK), which is considered extremist in Russia. Roisman himself denies the allegation. Another case is currently pending against him.
Ilya Yashin – Criticism even after arrest
Yashin is also one of the last remaining vocal critics in Russia. Even his arrest did not prevent him from sharply criticizing the authorities and denouncing the military intervention in Ukraine. Born in Moscow, he is considered a confidante of Navalny and was also close to opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, who was murdered near the Kremlin in 2015.
Activist Ilya Yashin: Imprisoned for criticizing the Ukraine war
In December last year, Yashin was sentenced to eight and a half years in a camp. According to the verdict, he had disparaged the Russian armed forces. Yashin was arrested in June after he posted a YouTube video denouncing the murder of civilians in Bucha, Ukraine. Moscow denies any attacks in the Ukrainian town near Kiev.
Pyotr Wersilov – poisoned because of research?
Another example: Pyotr Versilov,. The publisher of the online magazine “Mediazona” and a member of the punk group Pussy Riot suddenly felt very ill in autumn 2018. German doctors at the Berlin Charité could only determine that he was poisoned – but not with what substance. Versilov told German media that he assumes that the Russian secret service or the Russian reconnaissance service GRU was behind his poisoning. He sees a connection with his investigations into the murders of three Russian journalists.
Boris Nemtsov – shot dead in the street
Boris Nemtsov once inspired Kara-Mursa: they met in an interview in 1999, and a year later Kara-Mursa became Nemtsov’s advisor. The Kremlin critic and former deputy prime minister was shot dead in 2015 while walking home across a Moscow bridge near the Kremlin.
Years later, the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya is commemorated, as here in front of the Russian Embassy in Berlin in 2021
Five Chechen men were convicted of killing Nemtsov, but the alleged masterminds of the murder have never been found. The Kremlin denied any accusation in this case either. Nemtsov, a charismatic speaker, had criticized Putin’s 2014 annexation of Crimea by Ukraine and regularly attended opposition protests.
Anna Politkovskaya – Death in the elevator
The Russian-American reporter for “Novaya Gazeta” was also shot – on October 7, 2006 in the elevator of her apartment building. To date, the crime against her has not been fully resolved. She had reported on the Chechen war and repeatedly criticized the Russian government. The journalist was poisoned three years before her death when she flew from Moscow to Beslan on September 2, 2004 to report on the hostage-taking at a local school by terrorists.
Cooperation: Olga Tikhomirova