Dec. 31 (UPI) -- The United States sanctioned a Russian judge for the "arbitrary" imprisonment of Moscow politician and human rights activist Alexei Gorinov as officials in Russia seek to extend his sentence, the U.S. announced Tuesday. "Russia's manipulation of its legal system silences dissent and suffocates the truth about Russia's indefensible war against Ukraine ," Acting U.S. Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith wrote in a release .