Anti-war politician in custody in Russia sentenced to 7 years in prison

Maxim Kruglov, Deputy Leader of the Yabloko Party who opposed the war in Ukraine, appeared in court in Russia on charges of "spreading false information about the Russian army." Detained in October of last year due to two posts he made on his social media account in 2022, Kruglov denied the accusations against him. Kruglov stated that the case in question shows that the authorities do not tolerate those who do not share their views.

Rejecting the Russian prosecutors' accusations that the posts were made out of "political hatred," Kruglov argued that his career has been dedicated to improving life in Russia. The defendant said that the authorities equate political disagreement with hatred.

Kruglov also stated that he is against the war and believes that Russia will one day be a peaceful country, saying, "Russia will be a country that its neighbors respect, not fear."

Kruglov, who is also a former member of the Moscow City Duma, was sentenced to 7 years in prison at the end of the hearing.

It was noted that one of the posts cited as evidence in Kruglov's case was based on United Nations (UN) data regarding deaths in the Russia-Ukraine War, while the other was related to the events that took place in the Bucha region near Kyiv in March 2022, when the war began. While Ukraine and Western countries claim that the Russian army massacred civilians there, the Moscow administration claims that the incident was staged.

Reaction to the decision from the Yabloko front

Yabloko leader Nikolai Rybakov described the decision as unjust, stating, "If people think that such sentences are acceptable, then there is no point in voting or supporting parties other than Yabloko. There is a choice right now: Either you vote for Yabloko and say 'no to today,' or you vote for other parties and say 'continue'."

The decision came before the State Duma elections

This development occurred ahead of the State Duma elections, the lower house of the Russian Parliament, which are planned to be held in September and in which the Yabloko Party is preparing to participate.

The Yabloko Party, which was one of the leading liberal movements of the post-Soviet era in the past, currently holds only a few seats in regional parliaments and is not represented in the national parliament. It is considered unlikely that the party will win seats at the national level in the Russian political system this year, but its participation in the elections is seen as providing a platform to express its anti-war views.

News Source: 12punto