Another Russian opposition activist – Andrei Pivovarov has been sentenced to 4 years in prison for leading a banned pro-democracy group.
Another Russian opposition activist – Andrei Pivovarov has been sentenced to 4 years in prison for leading a banned pro-democracy group.
The Russian Federation has been cracking down heavily on opposition activists, independent media and rights groups in the country. Russia’s handling of Alexander Navalny has been widely criticized across the globe. The crackdown has increased after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Pivovarov is a Former Director of Open Russia, a now defunct opposition group linked to exiled former oil tycoon and longtime Kremlin critic – Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Pivovarov was hauled off a plane at St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport while it was taxiing for take-off to Poland in June 2021 and has been held in prison since. Russia previously designated the Open Russia organization “undesirable” and the Khodorkovsky-linked movement shuttered its Russian operations last year in a bid to protect associates.
He was sentenced by a Court in the Southern Russian city of Krasnodar after being charged with “directing an undesirable organization,” which is a criminal offence under a 2015 law.
Investigators claimed Pivovarov was still working with the group, which is now based in London, because of a series of Facebook posts in which he allegedly criticized Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and supported opposition protesters. Pivovarov said that charges are framed against him for planning to run for Parliament in September 2021. Pivovarov rejected the charges and noted that the criminal case against him was opened two days after Open Russia shut down. He will also be banned from conducting any political activities for 8 years.
Speaking from his metal cage in Court, Pivovarov said, “And even if now those who stand for the future are trampled and imprisoned, I know that progress cannot be stopped, changes for the better are inevitable, and they are not far off.”
Pivovarov is the latest critic of President of Russia – Vladimir Putin to be sent to prison. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, dozens of opposition activists have faced prosecution and pressure from the authorities. Many have left Russia and others have been imprisoned. All main independent media outlets have been shut down or suspended. Facebook and Instagram have been banned and any criticism of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine is outlawed.
Besides, a Court in Moscow remanded another top opposition figure – Ilya Yashin, in custody, pending investigation and trial on the charges of spreading false information about the Russian military. Yashin was one of the few prominent opposition politicians who had not left Russia.
