A court in Pskov on Monday found Lev Shlosberg, a senior member of Russia's liberal opposition party Yabloko, guilty of 'public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation' and sentenced him to 11 years and 1 month in a penal colony.

Shlosberg has described the war as a catastrophe for Russia. The Kremlin says he is spreading slanderous lies about the army. In his closing statement before the verdict, Shlosberg maintained his innocence, saying he was the victim of a political trial.

On August 10, Russia's Supreme Court banned Yabloko — the only registered political party calling for an end to Russia's invasion of Ukraine — from participating in upcoming parliamentary elections. The decision was upheld on Monday.

During his closing statement, Shlosberg repeated his call for an immediate ceasefire in the four-and-a-half-year war. 'The lives of countless thousands of people have been cut short during this time. Sooner or later, the precise and complete death toll — with names included — will be made public, and the entire nation will shudder at this list of martyrs,' he said.

BBC's Russia Service and independent media outlet Mediazona have counted the names of more than 239,354 fallen Russian soldiers via public records. However, factoring in death certificates and estate information, excess mortality numbers topped 350,000. Russia does not publish casualty figures.

Shlosberg was arrested last year on charges that he had 'discredited' the military during a video debate, referring to the war as a 'bloody game of chess.' The charge of spreading fake news was added after he reposted the video on Telegram.

'A single person is imprisoned, yet fear seeps into the hearts of millions,' said Shlosberg. He is the second person from his party to face such punishment; in June, deputy party leader Maxim Kruglov was sentenced to seven years for 'spreading lies about Russia's military.'

Source: www.dw.com