‘Justice isn’t for people like me’: Criminal defendant charged with ‘spreading fakes’ about Russian invasion can’t afford to pay fine, requests prison sentence instead

The 65-year-old Marina Novikova from the Tomsk region of Western Siberia is a defendant in one of the first two criminal cases opened in Russia since a new law against “fakes” about Russia’s combat operations was adopted in 2022.

Novikova is now on trial for retelling on social media what her Ukrainian friends from Enerhodar told her about their experiences during the Russian invasion.

According to the defendant’s husband who spoke with the local media, the prosecution seeks a three-year prison term for his wife. Because the minimal penalty under the so-called “military fakes” law is a 700,000-ruble fine (roughly equal to $8,500), Novikova has warned the court that she has no money for fines and prefers a prison sentence.

“I’m ready to pay for my right to remain a human being and an individual,” she said, adding that she was certain the court wasn’t going to acquit her. “That’s not why they started all this,” she said, “and justice isn’t for people like me.”