Russian court sentences activist under law on ‘undesirables’

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian court has handed a suspended sentence to an activist accused of membership of an “undesirable” organization, part of the authorities’ effort to tighten control over the nation’s political scene. Anastasia Shevchenko, 41, was accused of engaging in political activities under the aegis of Open Russia, a group funded by self-exiled Russian tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky who lives in London. Prosecutors have asked the court in Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia to sentence Shevchenko to five years in prison, but the court handed her a four-year suspended sentence on Thursday. Shevchenko’s case has attracted nationwide attention, marking the first attempt by the authorities to prosecute a person under a 2015 law.