In St. Petersburg, Sasha Skochilenko, arrested in the case of “fake news”, was sent to a psychiatric hospital

In St. Petersburg, Sasha Skochilenko, arrested in the “fake” case, was sent to psychiatric hospital No. 6 for an examination. Fontanka reports this with reference to Skochilenko’s lawyer Yana Nepovinnova.

According to the defender, the examination will take about three weeks.

A criminal case was opened against the girl under the article on “fakes” about the Russian army ( clause “e”, part 2, article 207.3 of the Criminal Code ). According to investigators, Skochilenko replaced the price tags in the Perekrestok store with leaflets with information about the shelling of the Mariupol drama theater and the death of civilians. The investigator considers the disseminated information to be false, and the action itself to be committed based on political hostility.

The girl admitted distributing the leaflets, but does not consider herself guilty and denies that she disseminated false information.

At first, the pre-trial detention center refused to accept a parcel containing gluten-free products that she needed for medical reasons. In addition, the girl was subjected to bullying from fellow inmates.

At the beginning of May, Skolichenko’s conditions of detention improved : she was transferred to a double cell with another neighbor and provided with hot, gluten-free meals.

• Since February 24—the first day of the “special operation” in Ukraine—residents of Russian cities have been going out to anti-war rallies every day and talking about the tragedy online. Anti-war speeches and statements become grounds for criminal prosecution. At the moment, more than 160 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protest against the war with Ukraine. Read more about this in our guide .
• Article 207.3 was included in the Criminal Code in March 2022 - in this way the authorities responded to anti-war speeches and statements, as well as the dissemination of information about the war that did not come from official Russian sources. The maximum penalty is ten years in prison.