Russian journalist sentenced for speaking out on Ukraine

MOSCOW (AP) — A court in Moscow has sentenced a Russian journalist in absentia to eight years in prison on charges of disparaging the military. It was the latest move in the authorities’ relentless crackdown on dissent. Television journalist and former lawmaker Alexander Nevzorov was convicted on charges of spreading false information about the military under a law that was adopted soon after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine. The law effectively exposes anyone critical of the Russian military action in Ukraine to fines and prison sentences of up to 10 years. Nevzorov was accused of posting “false information” on social media about the Russian shelling of a maternity hospital in the Sea of Azov port of Mariupol. Moscow has fiercely denied its involvement.