A judge in Moscow on Monday sentenced exiled political commentator Yekaterina Schulmann to one year in prison in absentia after finding her guilty of violating Russia’s “foreign agent” law.
Schulmann was previously fined for allegedly failing to include a “foreign agent” label in her public appearances and statements, an accusation she had denied.
Monday’s prison sentence was said to stem from three social media posts and a YouTube video that she did not appropriately label.
Prosecutors had asked for a prison sentence of one year and 11 months in absentia for Schulmann. Her sentence can take effect only if she returns to Russia or is extradited to the country.
Schulmann left Russia for Germany in early 2022 to pursue academic work shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. She is currently a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin, which was designated an “undesirable” organization in 2024.
Russian law enforcement authorities issued a warrant for her arrest last year. She was designated a “terrorist and extremist” in November.
Schulmann is also facing terrorism charges due to her connection to the Russian Anti-War Committee, an exiled group that Russia’s Supreme Court designated as a terrorist organization earlier on Monday.
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