A Russian left-wing activist has been sentenced to two years in jail for “extremism” after being detained in Kyrgyzstan, the Moscow court system said late Tuesday.
Alyona Krylova was among three Russian anti-war activists arrested by authorities in Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic in Central Asia, this summer. One of the activists was fined and released from detention this month for staging a protest against Russia’s security services in 2021.
It remains unclear how Krylova, 31, was transferred from Kyrgyzstan to Russia.
Moscow’s Meshchansky District Court found Krylova guilty of “organizing an extremist community” and ordered her to spend two years in a prison colony.
Under the Russian Criminal Code, the charges are punishable by a maximum of six years in prison.
The Memorial human rights group has recognized Krylova as a political prisoner.
Russian authorities have cracked down on critics of the war in Ukraine with a range of criminal prosecutions in their effort to stifle dissent.
Several anti-Kremlin activists fleeing persecution have been deported from or refused entry to Russia’s neighbors and allies in the South Caucasus and Central Asia since Moscow invaded Ukraine in early 2022.