Hello Deep Dives platform! It's a beautiful day to be here with you to share news about Russia and how the Russian government is treating critics of Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Good evening!
One of the instruments used by the Putin's administration to silence opposition or pro-Ukraine supporters is to through laws passed by the Russian parliament to fight free speech against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
As a lover of free speech, I believe that free speech should be said without hate and should be said from a free conscience but arresting people for making their point known to the government isn't bad on its own.
One of the recurrent happenings since the war in Ukraine started early last year has been to discourage criticisms from opposition politicians. Today, a pro-Ukraine supporter known as has been sentenced to 25 years jail term for criticizing Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
A stats prosecutor during the judgement of requested the court to give him a 25 years prison term for discrediting the Russian military and criticizing Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
"Discrediting" the army can currently be punished by up to five years in prison, while spreading deliberately false information about it can attract a 15-year jail sentence.
Casting the conflict in Ukraine as an existential struggle with the West, Russian pro-government politicians say unity across society is vital. They have described Russian citizens who question Moscow's actions in Ukraine as part of a pro-Western fifth column trying to undermine the military campaign.
After hearing his sentence on Monday, Kara-Murza, who was calmly listening to proceedings inside a glass courtroom cage dressed casually in a jacket and jeans, said "Russia will be free", a well-known opposition slogan.
Kara-Murza, 41, a father of three and an opposition politician who holds Russian and British passports, spent years speaking out against President Vladimir Putin and lobbied Western governments to impose sanctions on Russia and individual Russians for purported human rights violations.
Looking at human rights violation in Ukraine, I'll say that both warring states have committed human rights abuses that needs to be attended to by the International Court of Justice for war crimes charges. Although arresting and prosecuting an individual for speaking his mind about the current war in Ukraine isn't democratic at all, so the Russian government should release Kara-Murza to his people.
In his final words after the trail he said:
"Criminals are supposed to repent of what they have done. I, on the other hand, am in prison for my political views. I also know that the day will come when the darkness over our country will dissipate," he had said.