Court sentences Navalny associate Vladimir Milov to eight years in absentia

The Basmanny Court of Moscow has sentenced Vladimir Milov, an associate of Alexey Navalny, in absentia to eight years in a general regime colony on charges of spreading “fakes” about the Russian army on the grounds of political hatred, Mediazona reports.

The politician was also banned from administering Internet sites for four years. The prosecutor’s office requested that Milov be sentenced to nine years in a penal colony.

Milov’s prosecution stems from a stream called “Putin’s War Crimes” on the YouTube channel “Navalny Live” from March 2022, in which he talked about how Russian forces had killed civilians in Ukraine.

At the trial, the prosecutor pointed out that Milov had participated in protests before leaving Russia, and that had been arrested for doing so, which allowed the court “to see motives of dislike for the authorities in his actions.”

Vladimir Milov was formerly the chairman of the Democratic Choice party, as well as an associate of Boris Nemtsov.