Russia jails head of independent election watchdog for 5 years

May 14, 2025 - 09:52

Grigory Melkonyants, the co-chair of Russia’s election monitoring group Golos (Voice), who is in custody after he was accused of cooperating with an "undesirable organisation", reacts inside an enclosure for defendants before a court hearing in Moscow, Russia February 24, 2025. REUTERS/Yulia Morozova/File Photo - Source: REUTERS

The head of Russia's only independent election watchdog was sentenced on Wednesday to five years in prison after being found guilty of working for an "undesirable organisation", state news agency TASS said.

Grigory Melkonyants, co-chair of the Golos movement, was arrested in August 2023. He pleaded innocent at his trial.

Source: Reuters