Activist Verzilov was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for defaming the army. The Canadian dual citizen is fighting Russia in Ukraine.
Russian activist and performance artist Pyotr Versilov was sentenced in absentia to eight and a half years in a prison camp for denigrating the army of his former homeland. Judge Natalia Dudar imposed the sentence on Friday on the 36-year-old co-founder of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot because Verzilov exposed the wartime massacres of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, near Kiev.
Russia denies having anything to do with the deaths of hundreds of civilians. Versilov, who also has Canadian citizenship, left Russia long before the start of the war. In early October, the activist announced that he had joined the fight of Ukrainian defense against the invasion launched by Russia more than 20 months ago. He wanted to help Ukraine beat Russia, he said in an interview with Russian blogger Yuri Dud that has been viewed millions of times.
Founder of the news portal Mediazona
Because of the war effort in Ukraine, Versilov gave up his position as editor of the Mediazona news portal, which he founded, so as not to make himself vulnerable due to his support for Kiev. He explained that the portal must continue to defend independent and impartial journalism.
Versilov and his group of Wojna (War) artists were long one of the best-known political action artists in Russia. The punk band Pussy Riot, which he co-founded, has also become internationally known and has for years denounced Kremlin policy and repression of dissent with harsh song lyrics and videos. Feminist band Pussy Riot has just released a new anti-war song and video titled “Swan Lake” about the influence of the invasion on children, based on motifs from the Russian ballet Swan Lake.