A woman shops in a grocery store in Moscow. Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images
Russian authorities are cracking down on a network of feminist anti-war activists, Amnesty International said on Wednesday, accusing a woman of “discrediting the Russian armed forces”.
Artist and musician Aleksandra Skochilenko was arrested on Monday after going to grocery stores in the Saint Petersburg area and replacing price tags with anti-war messages, Amnesty International said. Prosecutors have accused Skochilenko of committing an act of “political hostility” by spreading “false information” about the Russian military and of “discrediting the Russian armed forces”.
Skochilenko will remain in detention pending her trial on June 1 and faces up to 10 years in prison, Amnesty International said. Her lawyer said Skochilenko was handed over to the police by another client. The idea of replacing supermarket price tags with anti-war messages was promoted by the Feminist Anti-War Resistance (FAS) group, which was formed the day after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. FAS members also stamped anti-war slogans and printed out and distributed independent media articles.
At least 100 activists have been detained, detained, searched or threatened by law enforcement, according to FAS. Amnesty International’s director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Marie Struthers, said in a statement that the Russian authorities “continue to wage war on the human rights of the Russian people and released them unconditionally.” The crackdown on this feminist-led anti-war movement represents another desperate attempt to silence criticism of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”
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