Russian journalist sentenced to 8 years in prison for criticizing Ukraine

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Alexander Glebovitch Nevzorov

Photo: Twitter

Moscow: A veteran Russian journalist was sentenced to eight years in prison for spreading “false information” about Moscow’s military offensive in Ukraine. Alexander Glebovich Nevzorov, 64, came under pressure from authorities after he alleged Russian troops deliberately shelled a maternity hospital in Mariupol, a Ukrainian town captured by Moscow after a long siege, according to AFP. “Journalist Alexander Glebovich Nevzorov has been convicted … and sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment,” the Moscow Courts Press Service noted in a statement on Telegram. Notably, the verdict is the latest in a series of rulings issued under new legislation that Kremlin opponents claimed was “designed to criminalize criticism of the conflict”.

Following the invasion of Ukraine last February, Russia introduced new legislation criminalizing what authorities consider to be false information about the Russian military and the offensive in the Eastern European country.

Several public figures have been sentenced to prison terms under the said law.

Investigators claimed that Nevzorov intentionally published “misleading information” with “inaccurate photographs of civilians affected by shelling”. Later, he was designated as a foreign agent, which has Soviet-era connotations.

It is important to note here that Nevzorov left the country and did not participate in the court hearing. Nevzorov is a former deputy. His YouTube channel has nearly two million subscribers.

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