Top Kremlin critic convicted of treason, gets 25 years

By The Associated Press

A Russian court has convicted top opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza, Jr. of treason for publicly denouncing Moscow’s war in Ukraine and sentenced him to 25 years in prison. It was the latest move in the Kremlin’s relentless crackdown on anyone who dares to criticize the invasion. Kara-Murza has rejected the charges against him as punishment for standing up to Russian President Vladimir Putin and likened the proceedings to the show trials under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. The activist and journalist twice survived poisonings he blamed on the Kremlin. Human rights organizations and Western governments denounced the verdict, and Amnesty International declared the 41-year-old a prisoner of conscience.