A court in Moscow on December 1 fined imprisoned Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza for a "violation of the law on foreign agents" because while incarcerated he failed to report every three months to the Justice Ministry about his activities due to his designation as a "foreign agent."
The Zamoskvorechye district court ordered Kara-Murza to pay 50,000 rubles ($560) for not filing a report to the Justice Ministry.
Kara-Murza's lawyer, Anna Stavitskaya, told the Business FM radio station that since her client is serving a 25-year prison term in a Siberian prison, he was unable to file reports with the ministry. Stavitskaya added that her client, who took part in the hearing via a video link, said he would not file any reports even if he was at home because he considers the law on "foreign agents" in "contradiction" of the constitution.
The same day, Ilya Yashin, another jailed opposition politician, was fined 45,000 rubles ($505) by the Babushkinsky district court because five reports on his YouTube channel last year did not have a "foreign agent" marking.
The reports about Russian President Vladimir Putin were published on YouTube when Yashin was already being held in custody. The YouTube channel is moderated by Yashin's associates.
Yashin, who took part in the hearing via video link, said the court's ruling "has no meaning," as "the 'foreign agent' label will not get stuck on me despite propaganda's efforts."
"Nobody will be able to frighten and muzzle me. Most importantly, nobody will be able to break my faith in Russia and its people," Yashin said.
Since 2012, Russia has used its so-called "foreign agent" laws to label and punish critics of government policies. It also has been increasingly used to shut down civil society and media groups in Russia since the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The "foreign agent" law allows authorities to label nonprofit organizations and individuals as “foreign agents” if they receive funding from abroad and are engaged in political activities.
Kara-Murza, 42, was initially arrested in April 2022 after returning to Russia from abroad and charged with disobeying a police officer.
He was later charged with discrediting the Russian military, a charge stemming from Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine and a Kremlin push to stamp out criticism of the subject. He was later additionally charged with treason over remarks he made in speeches outside Russia that criticized Kremlin policies.
In April this year, Kara-Murza was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Yashin, 40, was sentenced to 8 1/2 years in prison on a charge of spreading false information about the Russian military amid its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.