Sawt Falasteen - Russia fines anti-war politician in chaotic court hearing

The 63-year-old, an outspoken critic of the Ukraine war, faced the charges over a 2023 video he reposted showing an image of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is regarded an "extremist" in Russia.

Before the hearing, Nadezhdin -- who has had heart problems in the past -- took a reading of his blood pressure, which appeared to be at extreme hypertensive levels, according to an AFP reporter in the courtroom.

Paramedic staff entered the room and performed a cardiogram on him around 12 pm (0900 GMT), around an hour after lawyers called for an ambulance.

Despite his lawyers' pleas, the judge did not defer the verdict, finding him guilty of displaying "extremist symbols" and issuing him a 1,000 ruble ($13) fine.

The maximum sentence for the offence is 15 days in prison.

Nadezhdin had called the case against him "nonsense" and warned he would "simply die" if imprisoned over the charge.

"I'm glad to be alive... We live in a sick state," he said following the verdict.

One of the few anti-war politicians still in Russia, Nadezhdin had been campaigning to become an MP for his local district of Mytishchi in September elections, before his arrest on Monday.

He told AFP in an interview on Wednesday that authorities filed the charges because they were "nervous" of his popularity.

Russia has launched a major clampdown on dissent since launching its Ukraine offensive in 2022, jailing or fining anyone who speaks out against the war or Kremlin.

Nadezhdin served an MP in Russia's parliament between 1999 and 2003, and later as a city councillor in his hometown of Dolgoprudny, just outside Moscow.

Y.AlMasri--SF-PST