Russian courtroom sentences pro-war activist and Putin critic to six years in jail

[ad_1] A courtroom in Russia on Thursday convicted a pro-war activist and critic of President Vladimir Putin of justifying terrorism and sentenced him to 6 years in jail.

Sergei Udaltsov, the chief of the Left Entrance motion that opposes Putin and is affiliated with the Communist Occasion, was arrested last year .

In line with Russian unbiased information web site Mediazona, the costs in opposition to him stem from an article Udaltsov posted on-line in assist of one other group of Russian activists accused of forming a terrorist group. These activists have been convicted earlier this month and handed sentences starting from 16 to 22 years in jail.

Udaltsov has rejected the costs in opposition to him as fabricated. On Thursday, he denounced the decision as “shameful” and mentioned he was occurring a starvation strike, Mediazona reported.

In line with the courtroom ruling, the activist shall be serving his sentence in a most safety penal colony.

Udaltsov was a distinguished opposition determine in the course of the 2011-12 mass protests in Russia, triggered by stories of widespread rigging of a parliamentary election. In February 2012, he took half in a gathering that then-President Dmitry Medvedev held with numerous opposition figures.

Russian authorities have ramped up their crackdown on dissent and free speech after the Kremlin despatched troops into Ukraine, relentlessly concentrating on rights teams, unbiased media, members of civil society organizations, LGBTQ+ activists and a few spiritual teams. Tons of of individuals have been jailed and hundreds of others have fled the nation.

In December 2023, a Moscow courtroom sentenced Udaltsov to 40 hours of obligatory labor for violating procedures regarding organizing a rally after he was detained on Pink Sq., the place he tried to unfurl a flag with the picture of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, in response to Russia's state information company Tass.

Udaltsov was previously imprisoned in 2014 and sentenced to 4½ years on fees associated to his position in organizing a 2012 demonstration in opposition to Putin that turned turbulent. He was launched in 2017.