MOSCOW (Reuters) – A Russian court sentenced a defence lawyer who has represented critics of Moscow’s war in Ukraine to seven years in prison on Thursday under two statutes, spreading false information about the Russian army and “inciting hatred”, the court said.
Prosecutors had sought a 12-year sentence for Dmitry Talantov, 63, who plead not guilty, after he wrote Facebook posts which condemned the actions of Russian soldiers in Ukraine.
The U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights in Russia had called on Wednesday for Talantov’s acquittal.
“Talantov must be released immediately and exonerated of all criminal responsibility, as acts such as expressing a non-violent opinion or peaceful dissent against the war are protected by international human rights law,” Mariana Katzarova said.
(Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Toby Chopra)
