Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen was sentenced to eight years in prison by a Moscow court Monday for criticizing the Russian military, becoming the latest target of a crackdown on critics of the Kremlin.
Gessen was convicted in absentia on charges of disseminating “false information” about the Russian armed forces, according to the Moscow court statement.
The Russian-born journalist and writer is an opinion columnist for The New York Times and the author of numerous books about Russia, including the award–winning “The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia.”
Gessen, who lives in the United States, has been heavily critical of Moscow’s war in Ukraine and, over many years, has condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on human and LGBTQ+ rights.
In a letter posted to Facebook Monday, Gessen called the charges “illegal and unfounded.”
Gessen, who uses “they/them” pronouns, said that “as far as I understand from the indictment,” the charge is related to an interview they conducted with anti-war Russian blogger Yuri Dud, which was published on YouTube.
“In the interview, I discuss the actions of the Russian Armed Forces in the spring of 2022 in Bucha, Irpin, and other settlements in Ukraine. My statements are based on data collected during my journalistic work,” Gessen said. “Based on this work, I believe that Russian military personnel committed a number of war crimes in Bucha, Irpin, and other settlements of Ukraine, namely: murder of civilians, illegal detentions, torture, and looting.”
The YouTube interview has been viewed more than 6.6 million times since its release in September 2022.
Credit: cnn.com
