The unprecedented verdict raises the stakes for Kremlin critics in Russia who oppose Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
The Moscow court sentenced on Friday a member of the municipal council up to seven years in prison for his expression against the war in Ukraine.
Olexii Horinov was found guilty of spreading “knowingly false information” about the Russian armed forces. The crime carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison under a law passed by the Russian parliament a week after the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine.
According to Net Freedoms, a legal group aid, which deals with freedom of speech cases, a 60-year-old member of the Krasnosil city council of Moscow became the first person sentenced to prison on this charge.
The group said two other convictions so far have resulted in fines and suspended sentences. Horinov, who was arrested in April, became the first elected official to face charges under wartime laws.
Gorinov criticized Russia's military actions in Ukraine at a city council meeting in March. The video, available on YouTube, shows him expressing skepticism about a planned children's art contest in his district, while “children are dying every day” in Ukraine, according to the AP.
Read also: Strengthening of the ruble: Nevzorov compared Russia to the submarine “Kursk”
In photos published by the Russian media of Friday's court session, Gorinov is sitting on the dock with glass walls, holding a sign: “You still is this war necessary?” The bailiff tried to cover the sign with his hands.
As of Friday, Net Freedoms counted 68 criminal cases of misinformation and at least 2,000 cases of minor offenses related to the humiliation of the Russian military.
Gorynov has refused to plead guilty and again condemned the invasion under during his closing arguments in court on Thursday.
“For five months, Russia has been conducting hostilities, calling them a special operation. We are promised victory and glory. Why then do most of my compatriots feel shame and guilt?” – Horinov said. “I am convinced that war is the fastest way to dehumanization, when the line between good and evil is blurred. It is always death, I do not accept it and reject it.”
Bruce Millar, Amnesty International's deputy director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, called the sentence passed on Horinov “shocking”. Millar. The council member “did not commit any internationally recognized crime by calling the war launched by Vladimir Putin against Ukraine what it is, a criminal war.”
As previously reported, after the law was passed, a public figure was arrested in Moscow and journalist Volodymyr Kara-Murza, suspected of allegedly spreading “fakes” about the Russian army. The arrest was made after he spoke before the members of the House of Representatives of the State of Arizona, USA and talked about Russia's bombing of residential areas and social infrastructure facilities in Ukraine. In addition, a criminal case was opened against the well-known journalist Oleksandr Nevzorov, who also informed Russians about the crimes of their compatriots in Mariupol.
