Kremlin critic jailed over denouncing Ukraine war

Russian authorities have opened a criminal case against a prominent opposition activist and remanded him in pre-trial detention for allegedly spreading “false information” about the country’s armed forces. Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr.’s lawyer said Friday that the case cites a March 15 speech to the Arizona House of Representatives. Russian media reported that similar charges were being drawn up against a tech executive who is the former publisher of Russia’s top independent news site, Meduza. Russia adopted a law criminalizing spreading false information about its military shortly after its troops invaded Ukraine. The offense is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Human rights advocates so far have counted 32 cases targeting critics of the war.