The trial against the last Russian opposition activist accused of raising his voice against the Kremlin begins in Moscow. Vladimir Kara-Murza is facing alleged treason for spreading what prosecutors say was “fake news” about the Russian military. He faces 25 years in prison.
His lawyer, Vadim Prokhorov, questioned the guarantees of the process:“It is obvious that the authorities decided to hold the Kara-Murza trial at a cosmic pace.as quickly as possible, the next hearing is already on Thursday, March 16, and unfortunately there is no doubt as to what the final verdict will be.”
In the European Parliament, a prominent liberal MEP denounced Moscow’s treatment of Kara-Murza and other opponents of the Kremlin.
“I believe that this parliament during this session has to stand by him and put the release of Alexei Navalny back on the table. and with them that of all the political prisoners, as the Russian Vladimir Kara-Murza, Alexei Gorinov and many others detained for demonstrating against the war in Ukraine were in jail,” said the liberal Guy Verhofstadt in an intervention.
Kara-Murza is a Western-educated activist who was a close associate of assassinated opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. He is one of several critics of Vladimir Putin who have been detained since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
