Russia Sentences Artist and Pussy Riot Member Pyotr Verzilov to Over 8 Years in Prison in Absentia

A court in Moscow has sentenced the exiled Russian-Canadian artist and activist Pyotr Verzilov to eight and a half years in prison for charges of spreading false information about the Russian Armed Forces online.

The verdict from Basmanny District Court, which included a four-year ban on using the internet, was first reported Friday by the news website Mediazona, which Verzilov co-founded in 2014.

Verzilov, an unofficial member of the Russian protest and performance art group Pussy Riot, is currently living outside of Russia. He left the country in 2020 after police searched his home and the homes of relatives after Verzilov was charged with not informing Russian authorities about his Canadian citizenship.

An arrest warrant was issued for the 36-year-old in March after Verzilov posted two tweets and two posts on Instagram with photographs and captions about the murders of civilians in the suburb of Bucha, near Kyiv, Ukraine. He was accused of “causing social tensions” and “misleading citizens” about Russia’s invasion of the area.

The maximum sentence for the charges of spreading “fake news” about the Russian military is ten years in prison, and prosecutors had asked the court for nine years, according to Mediazona.

Verzilov stepped down as publisher of Mediazona in October after an interview with YouTube personality Yury Dud revealed Verzilov’s role as an intelligence officer for the Ukrainian military, prompting criticism.