Russia opened criminal case against activist over fake news on Ukraine

Activist Vladimir Kara-Murza was detained and sentenced to 15 days in jail in Moscow after speaking out against Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Now, Russia has opened a criminal case against him for spreading false information about Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine, under a new law with jail terms of up to 15 years for spreading fake news.

On April 11th Vladimir Kara-Murza was detained outside his home in Moscow after an interview with CNN in which he criticised Russia’s actions in Ukraine. He was sentenced to 15 days in jail for disobeying police orders during his arrest and now Russia has opened a criminal case against him on the grounds of spreading false information about Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine. Russia’s parliament passed a bill last month that includes jail terms of up to 15 years for those convicted of intentionally spreading fake news about what Moscow calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine. Public officials claimed the new law was needed to protect its military in the context of the conflict.