Moscow (AsiaNews) - The Russian activist Ildar Dadin was sentenced by a Moscow court to three years in prison for "repeatedly" violating the law on protests, through "solitary pickets" or unauthorized protests against the war in Ukraine.
The penalty decided by the judges is more severe than what was requested by the prosecution (two years), as noted by MediaZona news agency.
At the hearing, on December 7, Dadin presented himself with yellow and blue ribbons, the colors of the Ukrainian flag, and said he was innocent because he protested peacefully which is a constitutional right. According to witnesses in the courtroom, there were skirmishes between the ushers of the court and the activists present at the verdict.
Earlier, in October 2013, he had risked nearly 10 years of imprisonment for allegedly beating a police officer who had arrested him as he walked on Arbat Street in Moscow, while carrying a sign saying "No to fascism in Russia."
Also in 2013, in July, he was arrested after protesting against the notorious law "against gay propaganda" in front of the central library for children in Moscow.
He is the third person to be convicted of "repeated violation of the law regulating the organization and holding of meetings, demonstrations, marches and pickets", since July 2014, when it became criminal offense, sparking criticism from human rights activists who see it as another tool to suppress dissent.
