Russian court sentences Ukrainian lawmaker to 10 years in prison in absentia
A Moscow court sentenced Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksii Honcharenko in absentia to 10 years in prison, the Russian independent media outlet Mediazona reported on June 18, citing the court's statement.
The lawmaker was sentenced under the charges of spreading "disinformation about the military on the grounds of political hatred, justifying terrorism, and inciting hatred with the threat of violence," though the exact reasons for the launch of the proceedings were not disclosed, the outlet wrote.
Russia has launched criminal proceedings against a number of Ukrainian officials since the start of the full-scale war, for example, military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov.
International human rights groups have pointed out that Moscow often misuses its legal system to target political opponents under trumped-up charges.
"I accept your congratulations! I have become the first member of the parliament sentenced in Russia!" Honcharenko commented on the sentence on his Telegram channel.
The lawmaker suggested the reason behind the sentence may have been his calls for the killing of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Prior to the EuroMaidan Revolution of 2014, Honcharenko was a member of the pro-Russian Party of Regions. He left the party during the revolution and was elected into the parliament later the same year for the Petro Poroshenko Bloc, later named European Solidarity.
Honcharenko is also the president of the PACE (Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe) Committee on Migration, Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons.
In 2015, the lawmaker was briefly detained by the Russian police in Moscow ahead of a march in memory of killed Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov. He has also been sanctioned by Moscow and found himself on the Russian list of "terrorists and extremists."
Martin Fornusek
