The author of the Metro series of books, Dmitry Glukhovsky, has been sentenced to eight years in prison by Russian prosecutors.
As reported by the Associated Press, the writer – whose books were adapted into the Metro video games – has been found guilty of purposefully spreading what it deems to be false information about Russia's war in Ukraine. The country passed a bill which laid out a prison sentence of up to 15 years for spreading information deemed "fake" which goes against the government's official narrative surrounding the conflict.
Glukhovsky likely won't be facing this time in jail, having left Russia before it invaded Ukraine. His current whereabouts are unknown.
In April 2022, the author said that the war “unleashed by Putin is becoming more terrible and inhuman every day, and the pretexts under which it was started look more and more insignificant and false.”
Earlier this year, in a post on Instagram, Glukhovsky wrote: "Ukraine has been resisting Putin's aggression for a year now," he wrote in February. "As it was a year ago, I am quite convinced that this war is just as destructive for Russia and our people as it is lethal and destructive for the people of Ukraine I love.
"I feel terribly sorry for all the human lives lost in this monstrous unjust war by a tyrant who just wanted to preserve power and make history. I still demand from the Russian authorities to immediately stop this senseless and futile anti-national war and to withdraw troops from the territory of Ukraine."