Arr, a Russian scallywag be sent t' the brig fer a good seven years fer protestin' 'gainst war, mateys!
2023-11-16
Arr, me hearties! Aye, the crafty Russian artist, Alexandra Skochilenko, who be spreadin' messages, beggin' for an end to the bloody war in Ukraine, be thrown in the brig for a good seven years on a fine Thursday.
A Russian artist named Alexandra Skochilenko has been sentenced to seven years in prison for replacing supermarket price tags with messages calling for an end to Moscow's war in Ukraine. The verdict was delivered by a court in St Petersburg, after Skochilenko had made a final statement pleading for her release. She has also been banned from using the internet for three years. Skochilenko's supporters expressed their outrage by chanting "Disgrace!" in response to the verdict. The artist, who has already spent over a year and a half in prison, admitted to replacing price tags in a supermarket with paper messages criticizing the authorities and advocating for peace. However, she denied the charge of knowingly spreading false information about the Russian army.Critics argue that this case is part of a larger crackdown on those who speak out against Russia's military operation in Ukraine. Since sending troops into Ukraine, Russia has tightened its laws on dissent to silence critics. Skochilenko identifies as a pacifist and values human life above all else. Her lawyers argued that she committed no crime and that she would not survive jail due to her severe gluten intolerance. Amnesty International has declared her a "prisoner of conscience."
In her final statement, Skochilenko appealed to the judge's sense of history and urged him to resolve conflicts through words and compassion. She also directly addressed the state prosecutor, questioning whether he would be proud to tell his children that he had imprisoned a seriously ill artist for five pieces of paper. Skochilenko concluded by expressing her fearlessness, noting that her government keeps her in a cage like the most dangerous of animals.