Kremlin critic jailed in treason case for 25 years in harshest verdict of Putin era

FILE PHOTO: Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza, vice chairman of Open Russia, testifies before a Senate Appropriations State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee hearing on "Civil Society Perspectives on Russia" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 29, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza was jailed for 25 years by a Moscow court on Monday, the harshest sentence of its kind since Russia invaded Ukraine, after being convicted of treason and other offences in a trial he said was politically-motivated.

Kara-Murza, 41, a father of three and an opposition politician who holds Russian and British passports, spoke out against President Vladimir Putin for years and successfully lobbied Western governments to impose sanctions on Russia and individual Russians for purported human rights violations.