(Moscow) The Russian opponent Vladimir Kara-Mourza, accused in particular of high treason and who faces 25 years in prison, said Monday to be “proud” of his political commitment, during a statement in his trial, emblematic of the repression all over the place in Russia.
Referring to his positions against the Russian offensive in Ukraine and against Vladimir Putin, Mr. Kara-Mourza said “subscribe to every word of what I said and what I am accused of in this accusation”.
“Not only do I not repent of all this, but I am proud of it”, he added during this last statement of the accused before the statement of the sentence by the court and published on Telegram by journalist Alexei Venediktov.
“I only blame myself for one thing […] I failed to convince enough of my compatriots and politicians of democratic countries of the danger that the current Kremlin regime represents for Russia and for the world,” he added.
The Russian Public Prosecutor’s Office last week requested 25 years in prison against this opponent in the context of this trial which is taking place behind closed doors.
Vladimir Kara-Mourza is targeted by three serious charges: “high treason”, spreading “false information” about the Russian army and illegal work for an “undesirable” organization.
In pre-trial detention since April 2022, Mr. Kara-Mourza is a longtime opponent of Vladimir Putin. He almost died after being, according to him, poisoned twice, in 2015 and 2017, assassination attempts which he attributes to Russian power.
According to his lawyer Vadim Prokhorov, the opponent suffers from polyneuropathy and neuromuscular pathology, a consequence of the two poisonings.
Despite growing pressure against opponents, Mr. Kara-Murza had refused to leave Russia: before his arrest, he was one of the last known critics of the Kremlin not to have fled or not been imprisoned.
“I also know that a day will come when the darkness that covers our country will dissipate […] when those who instigated and started this war (in Ukraine) will be called criminals, and not those who tried to stop it,” the opponent said in his statement.