Petr Verzilov was sentenced in absentia to 8 years and 4 months in prison

The Basmanny District Court of Moscow sentenced in absentia the Pussy Riot member and former publisher of “Mediazon” Petro Verzilov to 8 years and four months in a general regime prison in the case of “fakes” about the Russian army. This was reported by the Telegram channel “Ostorozhno Novosti”.

The court also prohibited Verzilova from administering pages on the Internet for three years and 10 months.

Publications on social networks about the murders in Buch were the reason for the initiation of the case. In November 2023, on the same charge, Verzilov was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison, but the Moscow City Court sent the case for review due to procedural violations.

Soon after that, in March, it became known that a criminal case for treason had been initiated against Verzilov. As part of this case, mass searches of artists and activists took place in Russia.

• Verzilov is a citizen of Russia and Canada, he left Moscow in 2020. In October, he said in an interview that he has been serving in the Ukrainian army since at least 2022. After the release of the interview, he left the post of publisher of Medizony. In addition to the criminal case against Buche, a case of non-notification of second citizenship has been initiated in Russia. In addition, he is included in the list of so-called foreign agents.