“Putin is a war criminal, and I am behind bars,” shouts the opponent in front of the Russian court

Russian challenger Iliá Yashin, who is serving eight and a half years in prison for criticizing the Russian military’s actions in Ukraine, accused President Vladimir Putin of being a “war criminal” Wednesday during an appeal against his sentence, which was rejected by a court.

“Strange situation. don’t you think so Putin is a war criminal, and I am the one who is behind bars, a person who is against the war that they themselves started,” Yashin said during a video conference speech from prison at the Moscow City Court, reports Efe.

Yashin recalled that the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against the Kremlin leader in mid-March for the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children, which is considered a war crime.

“Putin didn’t run with a gun in his hand, but whatever Now he has to flee from justice. It is not excluded that I will finally give him my place in prison,” he said.

He emphasized that Putin committed these crimes not only against Ukraine, but also in relation to Russia, since he caused the country’s international isolation and harmed the economy and national security with his policies. “AND sent tens of thousands of people to slaughter. But what’s worse, it created the conditions for a radical increase in violence in our society,” he pointed out.

He warned of an increase in firearms crimes in Moscow and St. Petersburg because of the military campaign in Ukraine, as happened after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s. “Absolute responsibility for this falls on Vladimir Putin,” he condemned.

As for his appeal, he argued that the military censorship laws that led to his conviction were unconstitutional, but that he knew the only way to be forgiven was to repent for his criticism of the Kremlin’s militaristic policies, something he did not want. .

“What is my guilt summed up in? Thus, fulfilling my duty as a Russian politician and patriot, I told the truth about the war. And I specifically spoke about the war crimes committed by Putin’s troops in the Ukrainian city of Bucha,” he said. In this regard, he recalled that since his arrest, mass graves have been found and telephone conversations of Russian soldiers have been recorded, confirming the killing of civilians.

“Eight and a half years in prison for 20 minutes of intervention on the Internet. In the prison I found many murderers, rapists and thieves, who received less punishment for their crimes. I insist, for real crimes, not for words,” he insisted.

However, the City Court in Moscow today rejected the appeal of the opponent’s lawyers, who participated in the hearing from the prison in Izhevsk. Prosecutor Sergei Belov assured that in December 2022, Yashin was not convicted for his criticisms on YouTube, but for charges against Russian military units that fought in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kiev.

An ally of imprisoned opposition leader Alexéi NavalniYashin is one of the few politicians critical of the Kremlin who has not left Russia since the beginning of the well-known “special military operation”.

Another opponent who also renounced exile, Vladimir Kara-Murzá, was sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison for high treason, among other charges, a sentence that was unanimously condemned by the West.

On Tuesday, the Duma (House of Representatives) approved a law punishing up to five years in prison for cooperating with the ICC.