Well, well, well, it looks like a Russian court has gone ahead and sentenced Vladimir Kara-Murza, a longtime opposition politician and Washington Post Opinions contributor, to 25 years in prison for criticizing Russia’s war on Ukraine. I guess they weren’t too fond of his opinions, eh? Talk about harsh – but hey, what’s new under Putin’s regime, right?

Amidst Putin’s crackdown on dissent, this move was the harshest penalty yet for an opponent of the war. I mean, why bother with democracy and freedom of speech when you can just throw people in jail for speaking their minds? Seems like an easier way to control the narrative, right?

But wait, there’s more! The closed trial just goes to show how Russia is following its isolationist path, disregarding Western criticisms of its human rights abuses and moving to destroy any remnants of pro-democracy opposition. Who needs dissenting voices when you can have a country full of people who just nod and agree with everything you say?

Of course, the sentence was condemned by Western governments, international human rights organizations, and Russian activists and rights groups. But who cares about them, right? I mean, it’s not like it’s their freedom of speech on the line or anything.

The prosecutor had the nerve to seek the maximum term of 25 years for Kara-Murza. One of his lawyers, Maria Eismont, said he expressed his pride after the verdict in his work as an opposition politician. “My self-esteem has even risen. I realized that I have done everything right as a citizen and as a politician,” Eismont quoted him as saying. Yeah, nothing says “I’m proud of my work” like getting a 25-year jail term for it.

Even Kara-Murza’s wife, Yevgenia Kara-Murza, had something to say about the sentence, posting a message to her husband on Twitter saying that being handed a quarter-century in prison was the highest possible mark he could be given “for your courage, consistency and honesty in your many years of work.” Talk about a backhanded compliment.

When asked if the 25-year prison term for making speeches criticizing the war was fair and reasonable, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “You know very well we never comment on court decisions.” Says it all, doesn’t it?

But Kara-Murza wasn’t all talk and no action. He was arrested last April on charges of spreading false information in a speech he made in the United States to Arizona lawmakers condemning Russian military actions in Ukraine. In the summer, he was charged with cooperating with a nongovernmental organization designated as undesirable by Kremlin authorities, and in October, authorities added treason charges related to antiwar speeches Kara-Murza made abroad. Oh, and did we mention that he survived poisoning attacks?

The verdict was widely condemned by many, including U.S. Ambassador to Moscow Lynne Tracy, who called for Kara-Murza’s immediate release. Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics banned 10 Russian officials “involved in this bogus case” from entering the country and called on the European Union to impose sanctions on them as well. It’s always nice to see people sticking up for their fellow humans.

But it’s not just Kara-Murza who’s facing trouble. Alexei Navalny, Russia’s leading opposition figure, has been suffering acute stomach pains in prison, with his lawyers and associates warning that Russian authorities may be slowly poisoning him. These opposition guys really can’t catch a break, can they?

Overall, the case is just the latest in a series of increasingly harsh sentences for Russian opposition politicians and activists. And the judge? He’s even under sanctions by the United States and Britain for his role in the jailing of Magnitsky. It’s like a bad episode of Law & Order: International Edition.

It’s all pretty absurd, to be honest. And even though Kara-Murza’s sentence marks the first moment in post-Soviet Russia when public criticism of the authorities is officially clarified as “treason,” he’s still convinced that Putin’s regime will fall because of the war, and expressed optimism that, in time, Russia would have a bright, democratic future. We can only hope so.

Serious News: washingtonpost