Artist Alexandra (Sasha) Skochilenko, who is accused of spreading false information about Russia’s armed forces by replacing supermarket price tags with slogans protesting the country’s military deployment in Ukraine, appears before a court hearing in Saint Petersburg, Russia , escorted by police officers , November 14th… Purchase license rights Read more
- Artist replaced price tags with anti-war messages
- Skochilenko said she wanted to end the Ukraine conflict
- The prosecutor wanted her sentenced to eight years in prison
- The artist had turned to the judge for compassion and wisdom
Nov 16 (Portal) – A Russian artist who replaced supermarket price tags with messages calling for an end to Moscow’s war in Ukraine was sentenced to seven years in prison on Thursday for knowingly spreading false information about the Russian army.
A court in St. Petersburg handed down the verdict hours after the artist, 33-year-old Alexandra Skochilenko, made a final statement in court calling on the presiding judge to show wisdom and compassion and release her.
In addition to the seven-year prison sentence, Skochilenko was banned from using the Internet for the next three years. A prosecutor had asked for a prison sentence of eight years for her.
Her supporters kept chanting “Shame, shame!” After the verdict, a smiling Skochilenko formed a heart with her hands as she stood in the courtroom cage surrounded by police.
The artist, who has already spent over a year and a half in prison, has admitted replacing price tags in a supermarket on March 31, 2022 with notes calling for an end to the war and criticizing the authorities.
However, she had rejected the formal accusation of knowingly spreading false information about the army.
Critics say the case is part of a crackdown on anyone who speaks out against Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, which has resulted in nearly 20,000 arrests and over 800 criminal cases.
After sending troops to Ukraine early last year, Russia tightened its laws against dissent to silence critics as it denies what President Vladimir Putin portrays as an existential battle with the West.
In her closing statement, Skochilenko told the judge that she was a pacifist who valued human life above all else.
“Whatever decision you make, you will go down in history,” Skochilenko told the judge, according to a recording of her speech seen by supporters.
“They can demonstrate how to resolve conflicts with words and compassion.”
Skochilenko’s lawyers had told the court that their client had committed no crime and would not survive imprisonment because of celiac disease, a severe gluten intolerance. Amnesty International has declared her a “prisoner of conscience.”
In her closing statement, Skochilenko also addressed the prosecutor, who had called for a long prison sentence for her.
“What will you tell your children?” That one day you locked up a seriously ill, beloved artist because of five pieces of paper?” she said.
“I am not afraid, and perhaps that is why my government is so afraid of me and keeps me in a cage like the most dangerous of all animals.”
Reporting by Portal, Writing by Andrew Osborn, Editing by Barbara Lewis, Kevin Liffey, Alexandra Hudson
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