A Russian has been jailed for eight and a half years after simply criticising Kremlin's war in Ukraine.
The sentence was given to to Ilya Yashin, one of the few Kremlin critics to have stayed in Russia.
It is the latest indication of an intensified crackdown on dissent by Russian authorities.
Yashin was given to eight years and six months in prison after being convicted on charges stemming from his criticism of the Kremlin's action in Ukraine.
In a statement through his lawyers after the judge passed the sentence, Yashin said: "With that hysterical sentence, the authorities want to scare us all but it effectively shows their weakness.
"Only the weak want to shut everyone's mouth and eradicate any dissent."
Yashin was charged with spreading false information about the military. This is a new offence added to the country's criminal law after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine.
The charges against him related to a YouTube livestream video where he talked about Ukrainians being killed in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha. He rejects the charges as politically motivated.
During the trial at Moscow's Meshchansky District Court, Yashin argued his case had been fabricated and "has all the markings of illegal political persecution."
He noted that in the video he cited Russian official sources along with Ukrainian statements to give his audience an objective view.
In his final remarks Monday, he said he considers it his duty to tell the truth.
He added: "I will not renounce the truth behind bars.
"When the hostilities began, I didn't hesitate for a second.
"I felt I should remain in Russia, loudly tell the truth and try to do all what I could to end the bloodshed.
"It's better to sit behind bars for a decade and remain an honest person than silently feel shame for the blood spilled by your government."
Yashin, was given a prison sentence, but The Mirror reported an 18-year-old Influencer has been threatened with a hefty jail term simply for using Instagram.
Popular beauty and fashion trendsetter Veronika Loginova was intimidated into a six year jail term for using the platform.
Despite having a large following of 584,000 on the social media site, the 18-year-old has been accused of 'extremist activity', even though she posts absolutely no political or war related content.
While Instagram is banned - as it is considered an extremist site in Russia - it is however still widely used by the Kremlin elite, and is only available in the country using a VPN.
And most recently, two state prosecutors called at Loginova’s home and claimed that she “stands out too much” in Russia, as she has a an audience of over 1.1 million on Instagram and YouTube.
