A Moscow court on Wednesday condemned a Russian journalist in absentia to eight years in prison for insulting the military.
A statute passed shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched soldiers into Ukraine resulted in the conviction of television journalist and former lawmaker Alexander Nevzorov on charges of disseminating false information about the military.
Anyone who criticizes the Russian military activity in Ukraine might be subject to fines and 10-year prison terms under the law.
Nevzorov was charged with disseminating “false information” about the Russian shelling of a maternity hospital in Mariupol, a port on the Sea of Azov. Moscow vehemently rejects any connection.
After the outbreak of the Ukrainian crisis, Nevzorov relocated abroad, and he could not immediately comment on the verdict.
