A Moscow military court on Monday sentenced acclaimed novelist Boris Akunin, 69, to 14 years in prison in absentia after finding him guilty of justifying terrorism, facilitating terrorist activity and failing to observe Russia’s disclosure requirements for registered “foreign agents.” The 2nd Western District Military Court ordered that the first four years be served in a standard prison and the remainder in a strict-regime colony, imposed a 400,000-ruble ($4,500) fine and barred him from administering websites for four years. Prosecutors had sought an 18-year term. The case stems partly from a 2023 prank call in which Akunin discussed the Crimean Bridge explosion and allegedly endorsed violent action against Russia’s constitutional order. The author—best known for his Erast Fandorin detective series—left Russia in 2014 after the annexation of Crimea, was placed on the government’s terrorism and extremism list in 2023 and has since lived in exile. He has rejected the proceedings as illegitimate. The verdict underscores the Kremlin’s widening crackdown on dissent. Also on Monday, the federal Investigative Committee launched a criminal case against Meduza journalist Dmitry Kuznets, accusing him of participating in the activities of an “undesirable” organization—an offense that can carry a multi-year prison sentence.