Russia convicts a woman for two years over protest banners.

On Tuesday, a Russian court sentenced a woman to two years in prison for brandishing protest banners against President Vladimir Putin and the Ukraine crisis, the latest in a string of dissent-related convictions.

Elena Abramova, a translator from Saint Petersburg, held up posters in 2023 reading “A world without war, a Russia without Putin!” and “Freedom for Navalny!” “Freedom for all political prisoners,” according to the city’s judicial system.

The Kuibyshev District Court in Saint Petersburg convicted her of “discrediting the armed forces,” a criminal offense frequently used to prosecute critics of the Ukraine conflict, and sentenced her to two years in jail.

Since Moscow launched its Ukraine incursion in February 2022, Russian authorities have fined and jailed hundreds of dissidents as part of an ongoing crackdown blamed by rights organizations on the Kremlin and security agencies.

Russian authorities have classified late opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his organization “extremist” and anybody who mentions him without mentioning this classification is liable to penalties or up to four years in jail for repeat offenses.