Published on : 23/04/2022 – 13:48
In Russia, the pressure increases on an opponent who did not hesitate to criticize the invasion of Ukraine. Vladimir Kara-Mourza was already behind bars when he learned on Friday of his detention until June as part of an investigation for “false information” according to Russian law.
Vladimir Kara-Murza is a critic of the Kremlin, who in recent weeks has spoken out publicly against the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Aged 40, he is now the subject of an investigation for broadcasting ” false information “. This earned him a placement in pre-trial detention until June 12.
But the opponent risks much more: up to 15 years in prison, according to the new law adopted last month in Russia targeting what the Criminal Code defines as ” false information about the employment of the Russian Armed Forces “. The authorities have strengthened their legal arsenal to control communication on the military operation in Ukraine. Other similar investigations have been opened against critics of the conflict. Use the words ” guerre » or « invasion is enough to initiate proceedings against any Russian citizen.
One of the last major opponents still in Russia
Vladimir Kara-Mourza has also been registered on the russian list from ” foreign agents », which requires him to present himself as such for all his positions, under penalty of sanctions.
The opponent was already in detention when he learned of these new prosecutions. On April 12, he was indeed sentenced to 15 days in prison for “ disobedience to law enforcement “. Former journalist, member of pro-democracy NGOs, Vladimir Kara-Mourza was close to Boris Nemtsov, assassinated in 2015 a few steps from the Kremlin. He has also worked for organizations of Mikhail Khodorkovskya former Russian oligarch turned critic of Vladimir Putin.
Historian -he graduated from Cambridge-, polyglot, former journalist -he collaborated in Novye Izvestia et Kommersant– and coordinator of the NGO Open Russia, Vladimir Kara-Mourza, who was born in 1981, is one of the last opponents of stature living in Russia. He claims to have been poisoned twice, in 2015 and 2017, as a result of his political activities. The last, in February 2017, earned him a period of coma. He was awarded the Courage Prize at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy in 2018 and declared himself at the microphone of RFI, “tvery happy to still be alive »…
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(and with AFP)