A Moscow court has sentenced Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen to eight years in prison in absentia for spreading fake information about Russia’s military, as reported by the human rights NGO Net Freedoms Project on Monday.
Moscow’s Basmanny District Court found Gessen guilty of “disseminating knowingly false information about Russian military personnel motivated by political hatred.” The case stemmed from an interview they gave to journalist Yury Dud, discussing atrocities in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.
Russia issued an arrest warrant for Gessen in December and banned them from administering websites for four years. Gessen, known for criticizing President Putin, moved to New York in response to Russia’s LGBTQ+ restrictions.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, disseminating false military information is punishable by fines or up to 15 years in prison. More than 130 individuals have been charged under this law as of April this year.
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