A court in Moscow on Wednesday convicted one of the leaders of a prominent independent election monitoring group on charges of organizing the work of an 鈥渦ndesirable鈥� organization and sentenced him to five years in prison.
Grigory Melkonyants, co-chair of Russia鈥檚 leading election watchdog Golos, has rejected the charges as politically motivated. The case against him is part of the and rights activists that the government ratcheted up after invading Ukraine in 2022.
Golos has monitored for and exposed violations in every major election in Russia since it was founded in 2000. Over the years, it has faced mounting pressure from the authorities.
The Associated Press
