Former Russian lawmaker sentenced to 10 years in absentia

A Moscow court sentenced in absentia former Russian lawmaker Ilya Ponomaryov to a 10-year prison term on Wednesday for allegedly spreading "false" information about the Russian military and justifying terrorism.

Ponomaryov, 49, fled to Ukraine after becoming the only member of Russia's lower house of parliament to vote against the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and has since gained Ukrainian citizenship.

According to prosecutors, Ponomaryov "reported knowingly false information about the use of the Russian army and also justified terrorist activity" in a video published online in March 2022.

Prosecutors did not name the video, but opposition media outlet Mediazona said it was a YouTube interview he gave to the Current Time TV channel entitled "Ilya Ponomaryov: (Russian President Vladimir) Putin will be killed. By whom? I don't know yet".

A military court in Moscow sentenced in absentia the 49-year-old to 10 years prison, state media reported.

Ponomaryov was a Russian lawmaker from 2007 to 2016, sparking controversy by opposing the annexation of Crimea and abstaining on a vote banning "gay propaganda".

Until recently he headed the political wing of the Freedom of Russia Legion, a unit of ethnic Russians who fight for Ukraine and have carried out several armed raids across the border with Russia.

The politician said last month he was wounded in a drone attack on his home in Kyiv, posting pictures of his bloodied face on social media.

Russia has detained, fined or jailed thousands of people for criticising its Ukraine offensive, in what rights groups say is a crackdown reminiscent of the Soviet era.