A Moscow court Friday sentenced a city councillor to seven years in prison for denouncing President Vladimir Putinâs military intervention in Ukraine.
Alexei Gorinov, 60, is the first elected member of the opposition to be sentenced to jail for criticising Moscowâs military campaign in Ukraine.
He was found guilty of spreading âknowingly false informationâ about the Russian army.
Standing handcuffed in the glass defendantâs box, grey-haired Gorinov in a checked shirt unfolded a piece of paper that read: âDo you still need this war?â
Much of the courtroom stood in applause as he held the paper against the glass.
A uniformed bailiff used his hands to try and cover the words from cameras, before Gorinov removed it himself.
âThis was all decided before,â he said as he was handed the prison term.
His wife Alla cried in court when the sentence was read out.
âWe lived 32 years together. I thought we would go on living happily,â she told reporters after the ruling, her voice breaking.
âI will wait for him. He is the best.â
Gorinov is accused of discrediting the Russian army under strict legislation that rights activists say is part of Moscowâs increasing efforts to snuff out the last vestiges of dissent.
He spoke up against Moscowâs military intervention in Ukraine during a work meeting in March that was recorded on video and is available on YouTube.
During his speech, he questioned plans for an art competition for children in his constituency while âevery day children are dyingâ in Ukraine.
Judge Olesya Mendeleyeva said Gorinov committed the crime âas part of a group of persons by prior agreement based on political hatred.â
She said he and another deputy, Yelena Kotyonochkina who has since fled Russia, âmisledâ Russians over the military campaign in Ukraine and caused them to âfeel anxiety and fearâ.
Russian society is reeling from a historic crackdown on dissent which has intensified since Putin sent troops to Ukraine on February 24.
Criticism of Russiaâs military intervention â including the use of words such as âwarâ and âinterventionâ â has essentially been banned.
âToday, my client was given seven years in a penal colony for his words, opinions and convictions,â said Gorinovâs lawyer Katerina Tertukhina.
âA warningâ
Amnesty International called the sentence âshockingâ, saying the âofficial investigation into Gorinovâs case took only five daysâ.
Outside the court, around 40 people of different ages gathered to show their support.
One 80-year-old woman held a bag with embroidered Russian folk symbols and flowers, with the hand-sewn words reading, âNo to warâ.
Police encircled the white-haired woman in sunglasses and tried to lead her away, but the small crowd shouted, âLet her goâ, and they ceded.
âIt is important to be together and see that there are people who are really against what is happening, against repressive laws and share generally pacifist views,â said 39-year-old Nataliya Chichilanova, with dyed pink hair.
Vladimir Roslov, an 82-year-old pensioner, said the harsh sentence was intended as a âwarningâ to others who want to speak out against Russiaâs offensive.
âIf there had not been such a harsh sentence, then there would have been grounds to accuse the judge of disobedience to the president,â he said.
Russiaâs exiled opposition also slammed the verdict.
Leonid Volkov, a top ally of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, called it a âpublic executionâ to discourage any form of protest against Moscowâs campaign.
During his trial, Gorinov had continued to speak out against what the Kremlin has termed a âspecial military operationâ in Ukraine.
âNo matter what you call it, war is the dirtiest, vilest thing there is,â he said on Thursday.
In March, Russia passed into law prison sentences of up to 15 years for spreading false information aimed at discrediting its military forces.
On Wednesday, parliament introduced harsh prison terms for calls to act against national security and criminal liability for maintaining âconfidentialâ cooperation with foreigners.