St Petersburg: Darya Kozyreva, a 19-year-old activist, has been sentenced to two years and eight months in prison by a Russian court. Her sentence has drawn international attention. She has been prosecuted for expressing her anti-war stance, including the use of 19th-century poetry alongside graffiti to express her opposition to the conflict in Ukraine.
In December 2022, she sprayed the words “Murderers, you bombed it. Judases” in black paint onto a sculpture representing Mariupol’s connection to St Petersburg. This act of vandalism, deemed an act of discrediting the Russian army, formed a significant part of the case of prosecution.
Further contributing to her conviction were online posts expressing views critical of the war in Ukraine. These posts, alongside her graffiti, served as the basis for charges resulting in an earlier fine of 30,000 rubles (INR 31,172.25). The severity of the actions and their impact are debatable. The prosecution successfully argued that these actions undermined the Russian military’s efforts and public support for the conflict. Kozyreva’s expulsion from St Petersburg State University’s medical faculty also contributed to the overall judgment.
Kozyreva maintained her innocence throughout the trial, describing the charges as a fabrication. Her lawyer echoed this sentiment, stating their belief in her acquittal and expressing concern despite the relatively short prison sentence. This case is not an isolated incident. According to Memorial, a Nobel Prize-winning human rights group, an estimated 234 individuals are currently imprisoned in Russia for their anti-war stances.
