Russia jails Yabloko deputy chairman Lev Shlosberg for 11 years for condemning Ukraine war
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A Russian court sentenced Yabloko deputy chairman Lev Shlosberg to 11 years and one month in a penal colony on Monday for condemning the war in Ukraine. The same day, the Supreme Court rejected Yabloko's appeal against a ban on running in next month's parliamentary election. Shlosberg told the court the war was a catastrophe for Russia and called for an immediate ceasefire.
Key Facts
- A Russian court in Pskov sentenced Yabloko deputy chairman Lev Shlosberg to 11 years and one month in a penal colony on Monday for discrediting the armed forces and spreading false information about them.
- Russia's Supreme Court barred Yabloko from the September parliamentary election on August 10 and rejected the party's appeal on Monday.
- In his closing speech, Shlosberg called the war a catastrophe for Russia and demanded an immediate ceasefire.
- Mediazona and the BBC Russian service have recorded the names of at least 239,354 Russian military dead and estimate the true toll at more than 350,000.
Prison Sentence
A court in Pskov sentenced Yabloko deputy chairman Lev Shlosberg to 11 years and one month in a penal colony on Monday. He was convicted of discrediting Russia's armed forces and spreading false information about them under post-invasion censorship laws. Shlosberg maintained his innocence, said he was the victim of a political trial, and repeated his call for an immediate ceasefire in the 4-1/2-year war. In his closing speech he said the war had cut short the lives of countless thousands of people and predicted that the full death toll would make the nation shudder.
Yabloko Election Ban
Russia's Supreme Court on August 10 barred Yabloko from taking part in the September parliamentary election. The court rejected the party's appeal against that ban on Monday, the same day Shlosberg was sentenced. Yabloko, the only registered political party to call for an end to the 4-1/2-year war, has come under heavy pressure from the authorities in the run-up to the vote.
Casualty Records
In his closing speech, Shlosberg said cemeteries in Russia, including military ones, are growing far more rapidly than maternity wards, kindergartens, and schools. Mediazona and the BBC Russian service have recorded the names of at least 239,354 Russian military dead based on publicly available records. Using records of dead people's estates to calculate excess mortality among Russian men, they estimate the true toll at more than 350,000. Neither Russia nor Ukraine publishes up-to-date casualty figures.
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Russia jails Yabloko deputy chairman Lev Shlosberg for 11 years for condemning Ukraine war
