Grigory Melkonyants, co-chair of the Russian vote-monitoring NGO Golos, has been sentenced to five years in prison. Golos is known for recording alleged fraud in Russian elections. The sentencing is part of what is described as an intensifying crackdown by the Kremlin against independent critics and opponents.

Melkonyants, 44, was found guilty in Moscow's Basmanny district court. He was arrested in August 2023 amid Moscow's military actions in Ukraine, which accelerated the crackdown on Kremlin critics. Prosecutors accused him of collaborating with the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations, which Russia has outlawed as an "undesirable organisation." This designation effectively bans the group and makes collaborators liable to prosecution.

Throughout the trial, Melkonyants maintained his innocence and criticized the jail conditions, stating he was moved to different cells eight times and had over 100 cellmates. In his final statement, he expressed feeling stronger and maintaining his faith, noting the hundreds of thousands of people who have become observers.

Mikhail Biryukov, Melkonyants's lawyer, has called the charges "baseless," suggesting the authorities aim to intimidate independent observers to deter monitoring or silence them during elections. Golos, previously labeled a "foreign agent," was disbanded and reformed. The organization operates an online map detailing election violations in Russia.

Independent observers have consistently criticized Russian votes as unfair. Vladimir Putin was re-elected with 87 percent of the vote in a contest without genuine competitors. International and domestic observers have reported ballot stuffing and voter coercion for years.