Kremlin critic Yashin defiant after losing appeal against long jail term

Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin, who was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison in December 2022 on charges of spreading "false information" about the Russian army, is seen on a screen via video link during a court hearing to consider an appeal against his sentence, in Moscow, Russia April 19, 2023. REUTERS/Yulia Morozova

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian opposition activist Ilya Yashin on Wednesday predicted he would one day help build a "new and free Russia" after losing his appeal against an eight-and-a-half year prison sentence on a charge of spreading false information about the army.

Yashin, a longtime ally of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was convicted in December for statements that he made on his YouTube channel about war crimes allegedly committed by Russian forces in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha.