Moscow civil activist Mikhail Krieger was sentenced to 7 years in prison in the case of “justifying terrorism”. It was started because of his Facebook posts and comments from 2020. The prosecution requested 9 years in prison. In his last speech, Krieger once again criticized Russian aggression in Ukraine. The Insider published its full version earlier.
"Dear court! I am charged with two Facebook posts that were two years old at the time of my detention. From which I conclude that these texts of mine are just an excuse. And they are persecuting me for my first anti-war, and now openly pro-Ukrainian position, which I not only do not hide, but try to demonstrate it as widely as possible and at every opportunity. I consider this war to be that rare conflict in which the truth is absolutely present on one side. And this side is Ukrainian,” Krieger said.
The meeting was held in the 2nd Western district military court. On May 16, after the end of the first day of the meeting, Krieger sang the Ukrainian song "Oy u luzi chervona viburnum" to applause from the audience. When the policeman asked him to be quiet, the political prisoner replied: “I already sang everything.”
The investigation claims that Krieger encroached on the life of the security forces and called for the execution of Russian President Vladimir Putin by hanging. He did not back down from his position on the day of the verdict, mentioning the execution of Putin and in the last word: “I am sure that our dictator deserves such an execution as well as other war criminals who were hanged by the verdict, for example, the Nuremberg Tribunal. The same deceitful tyrant, who appropriated unlimited power for himself, with the same hands up to the elbows in blood. Krieger urged not to believe those who try to say that his views have changed. Such words will mean that his loved ones are in serious danger.
Krieger is a Moscow opposition activist, a former deputy of the Tagansky District Council of Moscow. He regularly supported political prisoners, went to rallies and pickets, and even spoke out in his last speech in defense of Alexei Navalny and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who are also serving time for political reasons. Since 2014, Krieger has been organizing rallies against the war in Ukraine.