A court in Moscow has begun the trial of Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin, who faces up to 10 years in prison for denouncing the war in Ukraine. The trial against Yashin, a 39-year-old Moscow city Councillor, begins during an unprecedented crackdown on dissent in Russia, most of whose opposition activists are either in jail or exile. The Associated Press has the story:
Russian Opposition Figure IIya Yashin goes on Trial
Newslooks- MOSCOW (AP)
A court in Moscow on Tuesday opened the trial of a prominent Russian opposition figure who faces charges stemming from his criticism of the Kremlin’s action in Ukraine.
Ilya Yashin, one of the few Kremlin critics to have remained in the country amid an intensifying crackdown on dissent, has been in custody since his arrest in July.
He was charged with spreading false information about the military — a new offense added to the contry’s criminal law after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine. Yashin faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
The charges against Yashin relate to a YouTube livestream video in which he talked about Ukrainians being killed in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha. He rejects the charges as politically motivated.
Speaking Tuesday during his trial at Moscow’s Meshchansky District Court, Yashin argued that his case has been fabricated and “has all the markings of illegal political persecution.” He noted that in the video he cited Russian official sources along with Ukrainian statements to give his audience an objective view.
Yashin refused to leave after President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine on February 24.
He is an ally of jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny and was close to Boris Nemtsov, an opposition politician assassinated near the Kremlin in 2015.
Standing in a defendant’s cage in Moscow’s Meshchansky District Court on Wednesday, Yashin was seen laughing, doing a thumbs-up and stretching, the AFP news agency reported.
Wearing a dark green hoody and jeans, he was also seen smiling at his parents in the front row.
Yashin was arrested in June while strolling through a park in the Russian capital.
He faces up to 10 years behind bars on charges of spreading “fake” information about the Russian army under legislation passed after Putin launched the attack on Ukraine.
The reason for the case against Yashin is an April YouTube stream, in which the politician spoke about the “murder of civilians” in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where the Russian army has been accused of war crimes. He called it a “massacre”.
While in detention, Yashin has not minced his words about Russia’s tactics in Ukraine.
In a speech in court this month, he accused Russia’s judges of acting as “political servants of the Kremlin”.
