The European External Action Service (EEAS) has denounced that the sentence against the Russian opponent Ilia Yashin “has political motivations and is unacceptable”, since the Russian fake news law only aims to “censor and silence independent voices”.
His spokesman, Peter Stano, has denounced in a statement that the sentence of eight and a half years in prison cannot be accepted and has called on the Russian authorities to release the detainee and the rest of the political prisoners in Russia “immediately and unconditional”.
“Russia’s so-called fake news law, which was used in the case against Mr. Yashin, aims to censor and silence independent voices and prevent them from objectively questioning, criticizing and reporting on the illegal, unjustified war of aggression. and unprovoked of Russia against Ukraine”, has denounced.
A Moscow court has sentenced former councilor and opposition leader Ilia Yashin to eight and a half years in prison this Friday for “spreading false information” about “the actions of the Russian Army” in the war in Ukraine, which could last almost a decade between behind bars after denouncing the Russian Armed Forces on his YouTube channel for committing war crimes in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.
Yashin, 39 years old and until now one of the few opposition leaders who were still at large, was the subject of the opening of a criminal case in July of this year for this complaint, in a process that began when he had already served 15 days in detention. administration on charges of “disobedience to the order of a police officer”.
