A Russian court has ordered an artist to be held behind bars for allegedly replacing supermarket price tags with messages protesting Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine.
Alexandra Skochilenko faces up to a decade in prison for her secret protest after being charged under a new law banning “fake news” about the Russian armed forces.
The Vasileostrovsky District Court in Saint Petersburg decided that Skochilenko must remain in pre-trial detention until May 31, the court’s press service informed on Telegram.
Investigators accused them of “placing fragments of paper, knowingly containing false information about the deployment of Russian forces,” in a supermarket in Perekryostok on March 31 in place of price tags.
They described her motive as “political hatred of Russia,” meaning if found guilty, she faces harsh punishment ranging from a fine of 3 million rubles (£27,000) to five to 10 years in prison.
Skochilenko describes herself on Instagram as an independent artist and musician. She was fined 10,000 rubles in March for taking part in a protest on February 24, the day Russian troops entered Ukraine.
“I do not support the war in Ukraine. I took to the streets today to say this out loud,” she wrote on Instagram.
She smiled and made V-signs in the cage for the defendants in the courtroom, local news website fontanka.ru reported.
The law against “fake news” stipulates that Moscow’s actions in Ukraine can only be publicly described as a “special military operation” or face up to 15 years in prison. This has prompted several media outlets to stop reporting in Russia.
The court in St. Petersburg ruled that Skochilenko was at risk of absconding because she did not live at her official address and had previously been fined for protesting.
In the Russian city of Kazan, activists replaced price tags in grocery stores with messages featuring anti-war movements. Photo: HandoutThe artist has reportedly created a series of postcards with slogans like “Violence is never the way out” and images of peace symbols and the Ukrainian flag.
On Tuesday, Andrei Makedonov, a 59-year-old doctor, was arrested in connection with a similar supermarket protest in Saint Petersburg, Fontanka reported.
Also on Tuesday, another Saint Petersburg resident, Tatiana Popova, was fined 30,000 rubles for hanging toys with “No to war” slogans in a supermarket.