Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Russian Court Convicts a Woman for Protesting the War in Ukraine in Latest Crackdown
By admin
Published 1 year ago on
November 16, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

TALLINN, Estonia — A Russian court on Thursday convicted an artist and musician for replacing supermarket price tags with antiwar slogans and sentenced her to seven years in prison, Russian media reported.

Sasha Skochilenko was arrested in her native St. Petersburg in April 2022 on charges of spreading false information about the military.

Her arrest took place about a month after authorities adopted a law effectively criminalizing any public expression about the war in Ukraine that deviates from the Kremlin’s official line. The legislation has been used in a widespread crackdown on opposition politicians, human rights activists and ordinary Russians critical of the Kremlin, with many receiving lengthy prison terms.

The 33-year-old has been held in pre-trial detention for nearly 19 months. She has struggled due to several health problems, including a congenital heart defect, bipolar disorder and celiac disease, requiring a gluten-free diet, her lawyers and her partner argued.

Almost daily court hearings in recent months put additional pressure on Skochilenko — the tight schedule often prevented her from getting meals. At one point, the judge called an ambulance to the courthouse after she fell ill, telling the court it was her second straight day without any food. At another hearing, she burst into tears after the judge rejected a request for a break so that she could eat or at least use the bathroom.

Russia’s most prominent human rights group and 2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Memorial, has declared Skochilenko a political prisoner.

According to OVD-Info, another prominent rights group that monitors political arrests and provides legal aid, a total of 19,834 Russians have been arrested between Feb. 24, when the war began, and late October 2023 for speaking out or demonstrating against the war.

Nearly 750 people have faced criminal charges for their antiwar stances, and over 8,100 faced petty charges of discrediting the army, punishable by a fine or a short stint in jail.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Box-Office Smash ‘Moana 2’ Drives Disney Profit in the First Quarter

DON'T MISS

UN Agencies Concerned Over Pakistan’s Afghan Deportation Plan

DON'T MISS

FBI Agents Who ‘Simply Followed Orders’ in Jan. 6 Probes Won’t Be Fired, a Justice Official Says

DON'T MISS

Cubs Acquire Ryan Brasier in Trade With the Dodgers

DON'T MISS

Rob Bonta Tells Politico That He’s Not Running for CA Governor

DON'T MISS

49ers Star Tight End George Kittle Is the NFL 2024 Salute to Service Award Winner

DON'T MISS

Spine-Zapping Implant Helped 3 People With Muscle-Wasting Disease Walk Better

DON'T MISS

Stock Market Today: Alphabet and AMD Weigh on Mixed Wall Street

DON'T MISS

US Postal Service Reverses Ban on Hong Kong-China Packages

DON'T MISS

LA Neighbors Have Vastly Different Post-Wildfire Rebuilding Options Due to Insurance Crisis

UP NEXT

Migrants Are Deported to India on US Military Plane

UP NEXT

The Aga Khan, Spiritual Leader of Ismaili Muslims and a Philanthropist, Dies at 88

UP NEXT

Trump Wants US to Take Ownership of Gaza and Redevelop It After Palestinians Are Resettled

UP NEXT

Trump Says the ‘Gaza Thing Has Never Worked’

UP NEXT

Trump Has Plan to Have Iran ‘Obliterated’ if It Assassinates Him

UP NEXT

Jewish Population in West Bank Keeps Rising. Settlers Hope Trump Will Accelerate Growth

UP NEXT

China Counters With Tariffs on US Products. It Will Also Investigate Google.

UP NEXT

About 10 Killed in Shooting at Adult Education Center in Sweden’s Worst Mass Shooting

UP NEXT

Jewish Author Calls for Rethinking Jewish Identity in Wake of Gaza Destruction

UP NEXT

Trump Agrees to Pause Tariffs on Canada, Mexico After They Pledge to Boost Border Enforcement

Cubs Acquire Ryan Brasier in Trade With the Dodgers

12 minutes ago

Rob Bonta Tells Politico That He’s Not Running for CA Governor

15 minutes ago

49ers Star Tight End George Kittle Is the NFL 2024 Salute to Service Award Winner

18 minutes ago

Spine-Zapping Implant Helped 3 People With Muscle-Wasting Disease Walk Better

21 minutes ago

Stock Market Today: Alphabet and AMD Weigh on Mixed Wall Street

25 minutes ago

US Postal Service Reverses Ban on Hong Kong-China Packages

28 minutes ago

LA Neighbors Have Vastly Different Post-Wildfire Rebuilding Options Due to Insurance Crisis

32 minutes ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Audrey Ann Hathorn

33 minutes ago

Pam Bondi Is Sworn in as Attorney General. DOJ Braces for Major Shakeup.

43 minutes ago

Bulldogs Suffer 4th OT Loss This Season, Fall to San Jose State

1 hour ago

Box-Office Smash ‘Moana 2’ Drives Disney Profit in the First Quarter

NEW YORK — Disney easily topped first-quarter expectations thanks in part to the box office smash “Moana 2.” There were some ove...

1 minute ago

1 minute ago

Box-Office Smash ‘Moana 2’ Drives Disney Profit in the First Quarter

6 minutes ago

UN Agencies Concerned Over Pakistan’s Afghan Deportation Plan

11 minutes ago

FBI Agents Who ‘Simply Followed Orders’ in Jan. 6 Probes Won’t Be Fired, a Justice Official Says

12 minutes ago

Cubs Acquire Ryan Brasier in Trade With the Dodgers

15 minutes ago

Rob Bonta Tells Politico That He’s Not Running for CA Governor

Photo of 49ers tight end George Kittle
18 minutes ago

49ers Star Tight End George Kittle Is the NFL 2024 Salute to Service Award Winner

21 minutes ago

Spine-Zapping Implant Helped 3 People With Muscle-Wasting Disease Walk Better

25 minutes ago

Stock Market Today: Alphabet and AMD Weigh on Mixed Wall Street

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend