The latest from Moscow:
Vladimir Putin on Saturday described as “an outrage” the sentencing of Russian gun rights activist Maria Butina to 18 months in prison in the US, calling her treatment a travesty of justice.
So speaks the leader of a regime that routinely imprisons citizens, including young women, some with small children, for as little as social network posts. Browse The Russian Reader for multiple examples. As a reminder, two Pussy Riot members served 21 months of a 24-month sentence – literally for nothing but shouting out against Putin.
Obviously, this doesn’t mean that I believe Butina deserves to spend 18 months in a federal prison. Nothing of the kind, for more than one reason.