Prosecutors had previously accused her of committing what it said was a serious crime out of “political hatred of the Russian Federation” and said she knew exactly what she was doing.
The prosecutor in a St. Petersburg court called for an eight-year prison sentence for painter Alexandra Skotsilenko who was arrested for protesting against Russia’s war in Ukraine by replacing supermarket price tags with knock-off labels that read anti-war slogans.
Prosecutor Alexander Gladyshev today asked a judge in St. Petersburg to sentence her to eight years in prison and ban her from using the Internet for three years, according to a statement from the St. Petersburg courts.
Prosecutors had previously accused her of committing what it said was a serious crime out of “political hatred of the Russian Federation” and said she knew exactly what she was doing.
33-year-old Alexandra Skotsilenko staged its protest last year on March 31, replacing price tags in a central city supermarket with imitation tags calling for an end to the war.
Skotsilenko, who denies the charge saying her protest was completely peaceful, was arrested on April 11, 2022, after a customer complained about her action. She is on trial on charges of knowingly disseminating false information about the Russian military, an offense punishable by up to 10 years in prison but sometimes carrying a 15-year sentence.
Skotsilenko, who smiled from her cage in the courtroom, was charged with spreading false information about the Russian military, which carries sentences of up to 10 years in prison.
Copies of the fake tags on which she wrote her anti-war slogans remain on a website maintained by her supporters, who are pushing for her release.
One of the tags accused the Russian military of shelling a theater in the port city of Mariupol, where about 400 people had taken refuge – a charge Moscow said at the time was false.
Another tag said Russia is sending troops to fight in Ukraine, a third cited the alleged wounded and criticized state television for not talking about them, and a fourth criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for lying and writing about “senseless deaths ».
A fifth tag read: “My great grandfather did not fight in the Great Patriotic War (WWII) for four years in order for Russia to become a fascist state and attack Ukraine».
The next hearing in the case will be held on November 13.
Source :Skai
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