Reacting to news that Maksim Kruglov, deputy chair of the Russian opposition Yabloko party and former Moscow City Duma deputy, has been sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for social media posts about civilian casualties in Bucha, Mariupol and elsewhere in Ukraine, Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director, said:
“Maksim Kruglov has been imprisoned not for any recognizable criminal offence, but simply for expressing his views and calling for an investigation into alleged war crimes. He is the latest among hundreds of people who are being targeted in Russia for expressing anti-war views.
“His harsh prison sentence is punishment for demanding justice for the victims of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and also part of a wider campaign to attack the Yabloko party ahead of the Duma election in September. Maksim Kruglov is one of several Yabloko members targeted by the authorities’ campaign to silence the only registered political party in Russia which is openly calling for an immediate end to the hostilities.”
“The Russian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release him and all others imprisoned solely for peacefully opposing Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The authorities must quash their convictions and repeal all legislation known as ‘war censorship’ laws.”
