For speaking out against Russia's war on Ukraine, a Moscow councillor was jailed for seven-years. This is the first time that a full sentence has been imposed under new laws that target dissent.
Alexei Gorinov (60) was captured in April critiquing the invasion at a city council meeting.
Anyone who spreads fake news about the military is subject to a 15-year sentence under the new post-invasion law.
Russians are forbidden from using the term war to describe an invasion.
Instead, President Vladimir Putin coined "special military operation", though he did mention the "war in Donbas" to parliamentary leaders Thursday.
Pavel Chikov, a human rights activist, said that Gorinov's sentence was his first under the new law. Judges have so far only given a suspended or fine sentence.
Judge Olesya Mendeleyeva found that he committed his crime "based upon political hatred" and misled Russians, causing them to feel anxiety and fear about the military campaign.
Gorinov, a court-martial in Moscow's northern suburbs, held up a piece paper with the words he had written in pen. To obscure the message, a security officer held his hands up.
In late April, the opposition councillor was taken into custody more than a month after he spoke at a Krasnoselsky district meeting in north-east Moscow.
Gorinov protested against the idea that a contest for children's drawings be held at a time when Ukrainian children were suffering from cancer. Gorinov had also attempted to open the council meeting by observing a moment of silence in memory of the victims.
An opposition councillor who supported his comments has since fled Russia. Prosecutors claimed they conspired to discredit Russia's military.
Reporters and activists who were present at court Friday reported that Gorinov said to the judge that Russia had reached its maximum limit for wars in the 20th century. He said that Russia's present was Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel, listing some of those places where Russian forces are accused of war crimes.
Ilya Yashin, Yashin's friend and opposition activist, tweeted his "horror” at the sentence. Yashin was sentenced to a 15-day prison term for refusing to be arrested. Maria Alyokhina, another activist, stated that Yashin was given a 15-day sentence for resisting arrest.
Tatiana Stanovaya, a Russian political expert, said that it was evident that the authorities were warning "dissenters". She said that the use of the term "war" was considered sabotage by the authorities. However, when it was combined with political actions like Gorinov's, it was almost terrorist and would result in a lengthy jail sentence.
Prosecutors in Russia are calling for a lengthy prison sentence for Andrei Pivovarov (a prominent pro-democracy figure) who was taken from a plane just as it was leaving St Petersburg in May. His lawyer stated that he was charged with leading an unsavory organisation, Open Russia.
