Al Jazeera Discovers Russia Still Charges Opponents
Yes, Moscow is charging an exiled oligarch with 'terrorism.' This, from the same state that once imprisoned Khodorkovsky for nearly a decade on dubious fraud charges after he dared to challenge Putin (and before it was fashionable in Western media to do so). Is it about 'opposing the invasion' now, or has Putin simply extended his well-established playbook of crushing dissent, a playbook
meticulously detailed by human rights organizations for decades, long before 2022? One might wonder if Al Jazeera’s sudden concern for Russian political prisoners extends to, say, Julian Assange, or critics of states more aligned with their editorial interests. Or perhaps, like many in mainstream media, some oligarchs are 'good' dissidents only when it aligns with current geopolitical narratives.
What a surprise: Authoritarian regimes continue to be authoritarian regimes.