A Russian court has sentenced eight protesters convicted of rioting and attacking police at a demonstration against Vladimir Putin's inauguration for a third presidential term in 2012. Seven activists received prison terms of up to four years, while the only woman on trial was given a suspended sentence.
The sentencing took place on Monday after the judge delayed it from Friday, prompting speculation that the Kremlin sought to avoid negative publicity ahead of the Sochi Winter Olympics closing ceremony. Outside the court in Moscow, police detained around 200 people who had gathered in support of the defendants.
Amnesty International described Friday's guilty verdicts as a “hideous injustice” and said the trial was a “show trial”. The charges stemmed from clashes with police in Moscow's Bolotnaya Square on the eve of Mr Putin's inauguration in May 2012, when about 650 activists were detained. Criminal proceedings were subsequently brought against 28 individuals.
Sergei Krivov, Artyom Savyolov, Stepan Zimin, Aleksei Polikhovitch, Andrei Barabanovto, Yaroslav Belousov and Denis Lutskevich were jailed for between two-and-a-half and four years. Alexandra Dukhanina received a suspended sentence. All of those jailed had been in custody since their arrest, while Dukhanina had been under house arrest.
Yaroslav Belousov, who received a two-and-a-half-year sentence, claims the yellow spherical object he was accused of throwing at police was a lemon. His lawyer, Dmitry Agranovsky, said the sentences were excessive and based on the political situation, not the nature of the charges. Judge Natalya Nikishina, however, said the defendants “took part in mass riots; their shared blame is established and proved”.
Among the protesters detained outside the court were Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, recently released from prison under an amnesty. Many chanted “freedom” and “Maidan” in solidarity with Ukraine's activists. Opposition leader Alexei Navalny distanced himself from events in Ukraine, saying Russia had its own battle for freedom.
