Russia: Vladimir Kara-Murza, opponent of Putin, against all odds

Vladimir Kara-Murza is the subject of an investigation for spreading "false information" and this earned him a placement in pre-trial detention until June 12.

AFP/File

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

In Russia, the pressure increases on an opponent who did not hesitate to criticize the invasion of Ukraine.

Vladimir Kara-Murza was already behind bars when he learned on Friday of his detention until June as part of an investigation for "false information" according to Russian law.

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Vladimir Kara-Murza is a Kremlin critic, who in recent weeks has been speaking out publicly against

the Russian invasion of Ukraine

.

Aged 40, he is now the subject of an investigation for spreading " 

false information

 ".

This earned him a remand until June 12.

But the opponent risks much more: up to 15 years in prison, according to the new law adopted last month in Russia targeting what the Criminal Code defines as “ 

false information on the use of the Russian armed forces 

”.

The authorities have strengthened their legal arsenal to control communication on the military operation in Ukraine.

Other similar investigations have been opened against critics of the conflict.

Using the words " 

war

 " or " 

invasion

 " is enough to initiate proceedings against any Russian citizen.

One of the last major opponents still in Russia

Vladimir Kara-Murza has also been included on

the Russian list

of " 

foreign agents

 ", which requires him to present himself as such for all his positions, under penalty of sanctions.

The opponent was already in detention when he learned of these new prosecutions.

On April 12, he was indeed sentenced to 15 days in prison for “

 insubordination to the police 

”.

Former journalist, member of pro-democracy NGOs, Vladimir Kara-Murza was close to

Boris Nemtsov

, assassinated in 2015 a few steps from the Kremlin.

He also worked for the organizations of

Mikhail Khodorkovsky

, a Russian ex-oligarch turned critic of Vladimir Putin.

Historian - he graduated from Cambridge -, polyglot, former journalist - he collaborated with

Novye Izvestia

and

Kommersant

- and coordinator of the NGO Open Russia, Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was born in 1981, is one of the last opponents of stature living in Russia.

He claims to have been poisoned twice, in 2015 and 2017, as a result of his political activities.

The last, in February 2017, earned him a period of coma.

In 2018, he was awarded the Courage Prize at the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy and then declared himself, at the microphone of RFI, "very happy to still be alive"...

Also to listen

: Vladimir Kara-Murza, the risks of opposing Putin

To read: Repression in Russia: "All opponents of the war are targeted"

(and with

AFP

)

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