Days after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine last February, Russian lawmakers approved legislation outlawing the disparagement of the Russian military or the spread of “false information” about what the Kremlin calls “the special military operation” in Ukraine.
Courts across the country have increasingly handed out prison terms to critics of Moscow’s actions in Ukraine.
They included a prominent opposition politician, Ilya Yashin, who was sentenced to 8½ years in prison on charges of discrediting the military, and another top opposition figure, Vladimir Kara-Murza, who has been jailed on the same charges and is now facing trial.
Katz was declared a “foreign agent” last year, a designation that brings additional government scrutiny and carries strong pejorative connotations.
The authorities have used the label to raise pressure on independent media and nongovernmental organizations.
On Thursday, the Justice Ministry further expanded the list of “foreign agents,” adding leading human rights lawyer Pavel Chikov and popular blogger Ilya Varlamov, among others. Both have been critical of Russia’s operation in Ukraine.
*This story has not been edited by The Infallible staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.
