Prosecutor Anna Goryacheva asked the Pskov City Court to sentence Lev Shlosberg, deputy chair of the liberal Yabloko party, to 12 years and one month in a penal colony on charges of repeated discrediting of the Russian armed forces and spreading false information about them, a Mediazona correspondent reported from the courtroom.
The requested punishment takes into account a previous conviction: in November, Shlosberg was sentenced to 420 hours of community service over violations related to his foreign-agent status. The politician has pleaded not guilty, calling the charges "discrediting of the law and Russian legislation."
The discrediting case stems from a video posted on Odnoklassniki showing a debate titled "Shameful peace or just war" on the YouTube channel "Zhyvoi Gvozd," in which Shlosberg and historian Yuri Pivovarov participated. During the debate, Shlosberg advocated for "the soonest ceasefire in Ukraine." He noted that the statements attributed to him were made by his opponent, whose position he was arguing against.
The false-information case was opened over a repost in Shlosberg's Telegram channel on February 25, 2022, of an Ekho Moskvy publication featuring a Daily Mirror cover depicting a bloodied woman and Vladimir Putin with the caption: "Her blood... His hands." Shlosberg stressed that the post was published before the law on false information came into effect.
Shlosberg's lawyers did not attend the hearing, as they had for the previous two days, citing work on other cases and personal circumstances. The court assigned a state-appointed lawyer, Leonid Skripilev, but Shlosberg three times challenged him. Judge Viktoria Malyamova refused to uphold the challenge, noting that the lawyer and the politician had "18 minutes to formulate a position" before the hearing. The judge also did not allow the defense to review the minutes of previous hearings.
Shlosberg was sent to a pre-trial detention center on December 5. Judge Malyamova has been hearing the case since June 22; Shlosberg has unsuccessfully challenged her several times. Mediazona noted that for two weeks, hearings were held almost daily, in violation of the politician's rights to walks, showers, proper hot meals, and visits with family and lawyers.