Russian court requests 1 year community service for woman accused of posting pro-Ukrainian content
On the 17th of February, the Prosecutor in the Railway Court of Ekaterinburg City in Russia requested a year of community service for Catherine Volgozheninova. The Prosecutor also requested a deduction of 10% of her earnings in the state income. She is accused of extremism and reposting extremist content on the social network site Vkontakte. Volgozheninova is a store clerk and a single mother.
The Prosecutor explained that Volgozheninova received this lenient sentence as she has a small child and has not been previously convicted. While reading the charges, the Prosecutor noted that the article imputed to Volgozheninova had never been used. However, due to recent developments, it became relevant.
"The prosecution will not assess the relations between Ukraine and Russia as the criminal law is an apolitical one,” the Prosecutor said. “However, the images on the page have information directed towards the excitation of hatred and enmity to Russians,” the Prosecutor added.
It was previously reported that Volgozheninova was accused of “aiding terrorists” for liking and reposting materials regarding Ukraine on social media networks. The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation (FSB) has identified this as extremism.
Employees of the Russian Special Services stormed into Volgozheninova’s place of residence with a search warrant, where they seized computers, a tablet and a phone. They blocked her bank accounts and cards the day before court proceedings began. In addition, before the court sentence, her name was added to the list of "supporters of terrorists" on the main page of the website of the Federal Service for Financial and Budgetary Oversight (Rosfinnadzor).