May 14 (UPI) -- A Russian court on Wednesday sentenced well-known election watchdog Grigory Melkonyants to five years in prison after it found him guilty of allegedly working for a so-called "undesirable" organization. "Don't worry, I'm not despairing," Melkonyants was quoted telling supporters after the sentence was handed down by Moscow's Basmanny District Court in a latest blow to free speech in Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime. "You shouldn't despair either!" he reportedly stated.