Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in prison: how the politician's case developed, and what he was generally accused of

On April 11, 2022, Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., a politician and publicist, was arrested. And on April 17, 2023, the Moscow City Court sentenced him to 25 years in a strict regime colony, reports “Voice of America".

Photo: IStock

Vladimir Kara-Murza is a friend and ally of politician Boris Nemtsov, who was killed in 2015, and a former chairman of the board of the Boris Nemtsov Foundation for Freedom. One of the main lobbyists of the Magnitsky Act adopted in the USA in 2012. In 2019, Kara-Murza became Vice President of the American Free Russia Foundation.

In 2021, when Russia tightened the responsibility for working with foreign organizations, Kara-Murza left the foundation, as he intended to continue to conduct political activities while in Russia. Until February 2022, he hosted the Edge of the Week program on Ekho Moskvy radio.

After the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Kara-Murza, together with other Russian oppositionists and public figures, created the Anti-War Committee of Russia. The organization, among other things, called for the political leadership of Russia and the generals participating in the war to be declared war criminals.

Detention, two charges

Vladimir Kara-Murza was detained on April 11, 2023, near his house and taken to the Khamovniki police station, where the politician spent the night awaiting trial.

The reason for the detention of Kara-Murza was that he “behaved inappropriately at the sight of the police officers, changed the trajectory of movement, quickened his pace and tried to hide in response to their demand to stop.” This is stated in the police reports published by the lawyer. Since this detention, Kara-Murza has not been released again.

His detention comes at a time when the Kremlin is ramping up arrests of journalists and anti-war activists.

On April 22, the Investigative Committee initiates a case against Vladimir-Murza for spreading fakes about the army (Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and he is sent to a pre-trial detention center. The punishment under this article is up to 10 years in prison. The reason for initiating the case was the speech of the politician in the Arizona House of Representatives on March 15, 2022.

On the subject: Russian officials banned from traveling abroad: for official visits, you need to obtain permission from the Prime Minister

According to investigators, during Kara-Murza’s speech, “acting on the motives of political hatred, he spread “deliberately false information” that the Russian military was bombing residential areas, maternity hospitals, hospitals and schools in Ukraine, which “caused significant harm to the interests of the Russian Federation ".

A coalition of 25 international human rights organizations in early May calls on UN Secretary-General António Guterres and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to condemn the arrest and detention of leading Russian dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza and demand his immediate release along with all other prisoners of conscience detained in Russia for speaking out since the start of Putin's war in Ukraine.

In July, the Helsinki Commission, which represents the United States at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), calls on the Joe Biden administration to "use every tool in our arsenal" to free Russian political prisoner Vladimir Kara-Murza.

Helsinki Commission Chairman Senator Ben Cardin, Co-Chair Rep. Steve Cohen, Senate Member Roger Wicker and Senate Member Joe Wilson deliver a letter stating that “Kara-Murza represents the hope for a democratic Russia living at peace with its neighbors and his own citizens, and is now the man the United States should advocate for his release."

In the meantime, Kara-Murza was charged with carrying out the activities of an undesirable organization (Part 1 of Article 284.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) for an event in support of political prisoners. He is accused of holding a conference in the Moscow Sakharov Center on October 27, 2021 in support of Russian political prisoners with the money of the Free Russia Foundation (an organization recognized as undesirable in Russia).

In September, an open letter to Joe Biden is sent by six human rights organizations: Astraea (Latvia), Free Russia Foundation (USA), Human Rights First (USA), Human Rights Foundation (USA), Raoul Wallenberg Center for Human Rights (Canada), REDRESS (Netherlands) ), The McCain Institute for International Leadership (USA).

"Because Vladimir (Kara-Murza) is a US resident, the United States should join Canada in imposing sanctions on those responsible for his unjustified detention," the open letter said.

Two senators: Republican Jim Rish and Democrat Bob Menendez are addressing the Biden administration to impose personal sanctions on those responsible for the illegal arrest of Vladimir Kara-Murza. In their address to the White House, the senators emphasize that the persecution of the Russian opposition politician "is based on fabricated and politically motivated charges."

Third accusation

A number of media outlets, citing law enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation, reported that on October 6, 2022, Vladimir Kara-Murza was charged with high treason (275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). This is the third accusation after accusing the politician of spreading fakes about the Russian army and accusations of participating in the work of an undesirable organization. Vadim Prokhorov said that the investigation charged Kara-Murza with treason in three episodes. Of course, he does not admit guilt, as the lawyer said.

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“Volodya has already been charged for the third time, this time with treason, based on three speeches at international platforms, where Volodya spoke about human rights in Russia, about political prisoners and the need to introduce sanctions against Putin’s criminal regime. If the state accuses a person of treason, all of whose activities are aimed at protecting human rights in the country, this means only one thing - this state is criminal by its nature. And Putin’s regime painted a portrait of a true patriot of Russia: a “foreign agent” who opposes the war in Ukraine and for introducing sanctions against murderers and thieves in this government. And for this the authorities declare him a traitor. Well, whatever the power, such are the “traitors,” said the wife of politician Evgenia Kara-Murza. On November 17, 2022, she received an award on his behalf from UN Watch, a Geneva-based non-governmental organization.

The German Foundation Axel Springer Stiftung awards Vladimir Kara-Murza an award for personal courage. The politician expresses gratitude from the conclusion.

A few days after the third accusation was announced, Vladimir Kara-Murza received the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize in absentia. The prize is awarded by PACE - the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

The petitions of the defense side for the election of a preventive measure not related to detention were denied for Kara-Murza.

Deterioration of health

In March, after another court session in Moscow, Kara-Murza's lawyer Vadim Prokhorov reported that the state of health of the politician and publicist had seriously deteriorated.

The meeting of the Moscow City Court, which is considering the case of Kara-Murza on charges of “spreading fakes about the army,” is postponed, as the politician cannot be taken to the courthouse from the pre-trial detention center due to deteriorating health. According to Kara-Murza's lawyers, during his stay in the pre-trial detention center he lost 17 kg.

In a statement made in prison, Kara-Murza denied the allegations, adding that they were based on "political revenge." In March, the Moscow City Court extended the arrest of Kara-Murza until August 27, 2023, despite the diagnosis of polyneuropathy made by the chief neurologist of the Federal Penitentiary Service for Moscow, excluding a stay in a pre-trial detention center. The court rejected the lawyers' request to review medical documents and transfer the politician to house arrest.

Lawyer Vadim Prokhorov said that Vladimir developed peripheral polyneuropathy as a consequence of two severe poisonings in 2015 and 2017. Recall that after each of the poisonings, both in 2015 and in 2017, Kara-Murza fell into a coma. The Bellingcat investigative team claimed that before the first hospitalization, Kara-Murza was followed by the same FSB officers as the murdered opposition figure Boris Nemtsov and Alexei Navalny. Kara-Murza sought to initiate a criminal case on his poisoning, but he was never opened.
The deterioration of the politician's health is also associated with his stay in the punishment cell.

It becomes known that Kara-Murza was sent to a punishment cell for four days, due to the fact that he sat down on a bed in a prison cell after getting up.

Later, lawyers will say that Kara-Murza's health problems, among other things, are connected with his stay in the punishment cell during his imprisonment.

The United States has imposed sanctions on three Russians who are accused of human rights violations in connection with the Kara-Murza case. The US Treasury announces the imposition of sanctions against Elena Lenskaya, Andrei Zadachin and Danila Mikheev for violations in accordance with the Global Magnitsky Act.

Zadachin, an operative of the Main Investigation Department of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, authorized the initiation of a criminal case against Kara-Murza in connection with his anti-war views. Lenskaya, a judge of the Basmanny District Court of Moscow, presided over the pre-trial detention hearings in Kara-Murza's case and ordered his detention. Mikheev testified as an expert witness on behalf of the Russian government at the hearings that led to Kara-Murza's arrest.

25

On April 10, 2023, a year after his arrest, Kara-Murza appeared in court and said: “For me, as a historian, this is a reason for reflection. The criminals must repent of their deeds. I'm in jail for my political views. For speaking out against the war in Ukraine. For years of war with Putin's dictatorship. I also know that the day will come when the darkness over our country will dissipate.”

Independent journalists and human rights activists in an open statement on the website of the journalism award "Editorial Board" demanded that the criminal prosecution of opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza be stopped and that he be released from the pre-trial detention center.

“Vladimir Kara-Murza is a true Russian patriot and from the first days of the war he has been against Russian aggression, which brings endless disasters to the Ukrainian people and devours the lives of Russian military and mobilized citizens. But today in Russia, advocating for peace and ending the war is a criminal offense. We believe that all charges against Vladimir Kara-Murza are politically motivated, and charges of high treason are especially cynical. It was Kara-Murza who made the politicians of Western countries realize that not “the whole country”, but specific people are guilty of repressive actions and aggressive foreign policy of the Russian state,” the appeal says.

Among the signatories are journalist Tikhon Dzyadko, businessman Boris Zimin, writer Mikhail Zygar and others.

On Monday, April 17, the Moscow City Court convicted the opposition politician and publicist. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison: 7 years - in the case of “military fakes”, 3 years - for participation in the activities of an “undesirable” organization and 18 years - in the case of treason.

The State Duma Committee on State Construction and Legislation approved amendments that would introduce life imprisonment for high treason and increase liability for terrorist activities.

Reaction

Vladimir met the announcement of this term with a smile.

“My self-esteem even went up. I realized that I did everything right. 25 years is the highest score I could get for what I did, what I believe in as a citizen, as a patriot, as a politician. So, I did everything right, ”his lawyer Maria Eismont conveyed the words of Vladimir Kara-Murza after the verdict.

Eismont added that in the year since the arrest, Kara-Murza has never been able to communicate with his 3 children. He received his last refusal the other day.

“Today’s decision to sentence Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison for criticizing his government’s policies is yet another horrendous sign of the repression sweeping Russia. We call for his immediate release, said US Ambassador to Russia Lynn Tracy. “The right to have political views or to disagree with government decisions is one of the fundamental freedoms enshrined both in the Russian constitution and in international treaties to which Russia is a party.”

“This decision is an attempt to silence dissent in the country and demonstratively show what happens to people who dare to disagree with the policies of the Russian government. Kara-Murza showed that patriots, not traitors, speak the truth to power. Criminalizing criticism of government actions is a manifestation of fear, not strength,” the ambassador said.

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“Unfortunately, Russia is on the path to destroying freedom of speech and returning to the darkest times of its history. I support the right of Vladimir Kara-Murza and every Russian to express his own opinion about the direction of development of his country. Vladimir Kara-Murza and countless Russians believe and hope for a future in which fundamental freedoms are respected in Russia. And we share these hopes,” Tracy added.

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