UN slams Russia ban, prison sentence targeting anti-war party

The office of United Nations rights chief Volker Turk said on X that he was "alarmed by the barring of Yabloko, one of Russia's oldest political parties, from September's parliamentary elections, and the sentencing of its deputy chair, Lev Shlosberg, to more than 11 years in prison over anti-war speech".

His comment came after Russia's Supreme Court on Monday confirmed a decision to bar Yabloko from running in next month's legislative elections, as dozens of party supporters were detained outside the court.

That followed a decision by the court last week to remove the party from the ballot, upholding a suit brought by a nationalist party, which blasted the rival for its peace stance and accused it of receiving foreign funding and copyright violations.

Separately on Monday, a court in Pskov in northwestern Russia handed the long prison sentence to Shlosberg, 63, who is among the very few Kremlin opponents who have remained in the country amid its sweeping crackdown on dissent following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

He was found guilty of "public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation", and was sentenced to 11 years and one month behind bars.

Turk "calls on authorities to respect freedom of expression and citizens' rights to fully and freely participate in electoral processes", his office said.

"Peaceful dissent should never be criminalised."