In Russia, journalist Arkady Babchenko was sentenced in absentia to one and a half years in a penal colony

A Moscow court sentenced columnist and journalist Arkady Babchenko in absentia to one and a half years in a general-regime penal colony. The case was brought against him for failing to fulfill his duties as a so-called “foreign agent.” 

In addition, the Russian court banned him from administering websites for two years, even though the prosecution had requested a lighter sentence—one year in prison.

The basis for the criminal prosecution was a series of posts on Telegram that the journalist published in 2025 without the required labeling indicating his status as a “foreign agent.” The prosecutor emphasized in court that Babchenko disagrees with Russian policy and has expressed hostility toward the president’s actions. The journalist himself left Russia back in 2017; he had previously been fined twice for failing to provide the required labeling, and in 2020 he was added to the Russian registry of terrorists and extremists.

Source: Mediazona

As a reminder, three captured “Azov” fighters were sentenced to 20 years in prison in Russia.

A Moscow court sentenced the well-known Russian singer Monetochka (real name: Elizaveta Girdimova) in absentia to one year of imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony.