Russian court sentences anti-war politician Lev Shlosberg to 11 years in prison
MOSCOW, Russia — A Russian court on Monday sentenced prominent opposition politician Lev Shlosberg to 11 years in prison over his criticism of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine.
The 63-year-old is among the very few Kremlin opponents who remained in Russia after it launched a sweeping crackdown on dissent following the 2022 Ukraine assault.
The court in Pskov, northwestern Russia, found the deputy head of the Yabloko party guilty of “public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,” sentencing him to “11 years and 1 month of imprisonment.”
Shlosberg, when asked by the judge whether he understood the verdict, said: “I feel sorry for you, Your Honor, you have to live with this.”
Yabloko leaders Nikolay Rybakov and Grigory Yavlinsky called the ruling “the tragedy of the disintegration of modern Russian justice” and said the party would seek an end to Shlosberg’s prosecution by all lawful means.
Last week, Yabloko, Russia’s only anti-war party still functioning in the country, was........
