Russian opposition figure Ilya Yashin goes on trial over Ukraine war criticism

Russian opposition activist and former municipal deputy of the Krasnoselsky district Ilya Yashin stands in a cage in a courtroom prior to a hearing in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022. Yashin, one of the few prominent opposition figures to have remained in the country amid an intensifying crackdown on dissent was arrested in June in a Moscow park and later was charged with spreading false information about the Russian military — a new criminal offense for which he faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

A court in Moscow has opened the trial of a prominent Russian opposition figure who faces charges stemming from his criticism of the Kremlin’s action in Ukraine.

Ilya Yashin, one of the few Kremlin critics to have remained in the country amid an intensifying crackdown on dissent, has been in custody since his arrest in July.