Over 300 Ukrainians were massacred while Russian forces controlled the town of Butsha, northeast of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv. news’s team was among the first to film bodies in the streets of Butsja after the soldiers left the town. The news of the mass killing of civilians was spread all over the world. Russian Ilya Yashin described the killings as “a massacre” on his YouTube channel on April 7. He did not believe the authorities’ official version. A few days earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had said that the bodies in Butsha’s streets were “staged” by the Ukrainian authorities. This summer, Jasjin was arrested for spreading “false information”. BUTSJA: Jablunska street in Butsja on 2 April. According to the Russian authorities, their soldiers withdrew on March 30. According to the family, the killed man closest to the photo must have been shot when he went out with his arms in the air at a Russian checkpoint. Russian authorities claim that this and other images are staged. Photo: RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP Asked Putin to stop the madness In his closing statement in court on December 5, Yashin asked the president to “stop the madness” in Ukraine. He described Vladimir Putin as “the person responsible for this slaughter”. Jasjin also said that he has no regrets. – It physically hurts to think about how many were killed in that war. To remember all the crippled fates, Jasjin said. GRAVE: One of the many graves in Butsja photographed by news’s team on 3 April. Photo: Mohammed Alayoubi / news The maximum sentence for “discrediting” Russia’s armed forces or spreading “false” information is 15 years. Jasjin was sentenced to 8.5 years in a penal colony. The sentence against the former local politician is the most severe to date in line with the new laws. – Tribunal against the war Jasjin himself made an optimistic comment on today’s verdict. It is the channel “Ekho” on the social messaging service Telegram that quotes: – The process was intended as an exposure of an enemy of the people, in my guise. But it turned into an anti-war tribunal. We told the truth about the military crimes, Jasjin said. ARRESTED: Ilya Yashin was arrested in a park in Moscow this summer. He has previously been leader of the district assembly in a suburb of Moscow. Here in a cage during the court proceedings. Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP It is not clear where Jasjin will serve his sentence. But it will be in a “normal” labor camp, that is to say not in the strictest category. Putin on human rights On Wednesday this week, Vladimir Putin met with the President’s “Human Rights Council”. There he distanced himself from what he called the West’s attempt “to use the international doctrine of human rights to justify its dominance”. Before the annual meeting with the president, members of the Human Rights Council must be told which questions they should not ask. For example, about the number of soldiers killed, or the laws that have now been used to judge Jasjin. DECEMBER 8: President Vladimir Putin toasts Russian soldiers who have just received the Gold Star and the title of Hero of Russia in the Kremlin’s Great Ballroom. The soldiers have all served at the front in Ukraine. Photo: Mikhail Metzel / AP Thousands arrested for war resistance According to the independent human rights project OVD-Info, 19,441 people have been arrested for expressing opposition to the war. The figure does not include those against whom formal charges have been brought, such as Ilja Jasjin. OVD-Info has long collaborated with Memorial’s center for human rights. But the center has now been dissolved by the Russian Supreme Court. OVD-Info also helps politically persecuted people with legal assistance. In a Russia where it is becoming increasingly risky.
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8.5 years for spreading “false information” about the Russian army – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
