In London, a Moscow court has sentenced Pytor Verzilov, a Russian-Canadian activist and founder of an independent news site, to eight years and four months in absentia for social media posts criticizing the war in Ukraine, as reported by Russian media on Tuesday.
Verzilov, aged 36, became well-known as the unofficial spokesperson of the feminist opposition group Pussy Riot after its members were imprisoned following a 2012 stunt at Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral, where they protested against Putin.
Recently, the same court sentenced another Pussy Riot activist, Lyusya Shtein, also in absentia, to six years under wartime censorship laws.
Verzilov has frequently used social media to voice his criticism of Russia’s actions in Ukraine, sharing videos that exposed mass graves in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha.
The Ostorozhno Novosti Telegram channel reported that the Moscow’s Basmanny District Court found Verzilov guilty of spreading “deliberately false” information about the Russian military.
Although he was convicted last year, an appeals court overturned the verdict in March without specifying the reasons, leading to a retrial.
In 2020, Verzilov left Russia after his home was searched by authorities, and he faced charges for not disclosing his Canadian citizenship, where he spent part of his childhood.
He revealed last spring that he had joined the Ukrainian army to fight against Russia, although it is uncertain if he is still actively there.
Verzilov was unreachable for immediate comment. He co-founded the independent news site Mediazona in 2014 with other Pussy Riot activists, focusing on reporting on Russia’s criminal justice system.
Being an associate of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Verzilov underwent treatment in Germany for suspected poisoning in 2018, experiencing sudden illness, temporary loss of sight, hearing, and ability to walk.
(Reporting and writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
