The Moscow City Court has sentenced the opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in a strict regime colony.

Moscow City Court sentenced the opposition politician, journalist, and publicist Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years of strict regime colony. He was accused of spreading "fakes" about the Russian army (part "d" of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), participation in the activities of an "undesirable organization" (part 1 of Article 284.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), and state treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

Vladimir Kara-Murza was arrested in April 2022. The reason for the criminal case was his criticism of the actions of the Russian authorities regarding the start of the war in Ukraine. In his speech, he particularly said: "Today the whole world sees what the Putin regime is doing to Ukraine. It is dropping bombs on residential areas, hospitals, and schools." The demonstrative severity of the sentence is necessary for the Kremlin to intimidate the liberal part of Russian society and to form in it a syndrome of "acquired helplessness". Kara-Murza did not admit guilt, and in his last word, the politician noted that he was in prison for his political beliefs.