TOP LEGAL EVENTS OF THE LAST WEEK

Acts of violence against political opposition members have become commonplace in modern Russia. The conviction of Vladimir Kara-Murza demonstrates that law enforcement officials are willing to violate the law to instil fear and exercise complete control over Kremlin's political opponents. Moreover, this is happening not only within the country but also on the international stage. Even the International Criminal Court judges are being threatened with arrest, which appears absurd from the perspective of international law.

Vladimir Kara-Murza's verdict has been approved - 25 years in prison. The first appellate court of general jurisdiction affirmed the sentence for politician Vladimir Kara-Murza: 25 years in prison under articles on participation in an "undesirable organization" (part 1 of article 284.1 of the Criminal Code), treason (article 275 of the Criminal Code), and dissemination of "fake news" about the Russian army (part "d" of article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). Additionally, Kara-Murza was fined 400,000 rubles and banned from practising journalism for seven years after serving the sentence.

The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) has declared a judge of the International Criminal Court, Tomoko Akané, wanted under a criminal article. She issued an arrest warrant for the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and the Children's Ombudsman, Maria Lvova-Belova, earlier.

The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation has ruled that participation in the war against Ukraine exempts from punishment. The judicial board for military personnel of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, "given the changing situation," deemed it possible to exempt from punishment any Russian serviceman found guilty of a fatal traffic accident. The court noted, that the convicted individual "is carrying out combat tasks in the zone of the 'Special Operations Forces'" and no longer poses a danger to society.

In Russia, the arrest of Rinat Akhmetov's assets for financing the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been announced. The assets of the richest Ukrainian, Rinat Akhmetov, have been arrested in Russia in connection with the case of financing the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Russian Investigative Committee has applied a file to the Basmanny District Court in Moscow for the arrest of assets of the Russian subsidiary of "Metinvest."