RUSSIAN COURT SENTENCES OPPOSITION POLITICIAN TO 11 YEARS FOR UKRAINE WAR...

A Russian court sentenced Lev Shlosberg, a senior member of the Yabloko party, to 11 years and one month in prison on Monday. Shlosberg was convicted on charges of "discrediting" and spreading "false information" about the Russian military. The sentence was handed down in Pskov, approximately 600 kilometres northwest of Moscow, where Shlosberg served in the regional legislature from 2016 to 2021.

The conviction comes ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for 18–20 September. Yabloko is the only official political party in Russia that openly opposes the war in Ukraine, which began in February 2022. In a separate ruling on the same day, Russia's Supreme Court upheld its decision to bar Yabloko from the ballot in the forthcoming election, rejecting an appeal by the party. The rulings represent the latest actions taken against political opposition to the war.

The actions against Shlosberg and Yabloko follow a pattern of restrictions on dissent since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Shlosberg, who serves as Yabloko's deputy chairman, is among prominent opposition figures to face legal proceedings related to statements about the military. The timing of both the conviction and the electoral bar suggests a coordinated effort to limit anti-war voices in the lead-up to the September vote.