A Moscow court on Thursday sentenced two men to several years in prison for taking part in the recital of verses against the Ukraine campaign during an anti-mobilisation protest last year. Artyom Kamardin, 33, received a seven-year sentence for reciting a poem, and Yegor Shtovba, 23, was sentenced to five and a half years for attending the protest. The two were seen behind a glass partition in a heavily-guarded courtroom. Just before his sentencing, a smiling Kamardin recited a poem that refers to poetry as "gut-wrenching" and often disliked by "people accustomed to order". After the sentence was read out, there were cries of "Shame!" from supporters in the courtroom, some of whom were later detained by police outside the court building. Russian authorities have detained thousands for simple acts of protest against the offensive in Ukraine, with criticism effectively outlawed.

Kamardin has claimed that during his detention he was raped by police officers and forced to film an apology video as officers threatened his partner. On the eve of his arrest in September 2022, he had recited his poem "Kill me, militia man!" on a Moscow square where dissidents have been gathering since the Soviet era. Kamardin also shouted offensive slogans against the imperial "New Russia" project aiming to annex the south of Ukraine. Both were convicted of "inciting hatred" and "calling for activities threatening state security". Kamardin told the court he did not know his actions broke the law and asked for mercy. "I am not a hero, and going to prison for my beliefs was never in my plans," he said in a statement, posted on his supporters' Telegram channel.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)