Artist Sasha Skochilenko was transferred back to the pre-trial detention center

In St. Petersburg, artist Sasha Skochilenko, accused of spreading “fake news” about the Russian army (clause “d”, part 2, article 207.3 of the Criminal Code), was transferred from the temporary detention center back to the pre-trial detention center. This was reported in the telegram channel of the girl’s support group.

On August 1, Skochilenko was transferred to a temporary detention center to familiarize himself with the materials of the criminal case. Then, in a letter to her mother, shesuggested that the transfer was a form of pressure, since the temporary detention center did not have the products she needed. “There is no reason that I could not be introduced to the case materials in pre-trial detention center-5,” she noted.

Skochilenko was diagnosed with celiac disease - gluten intolerance, due to which the girl cannot consume many common foods.

On August 4, when the artist was in the temporary detention center, lawyer Yana Nepovinnovareported that her client was not receiving food parcels that she needed for health reasons. Previously, the pre-trial detention center staff also refused to give the artist food, but later provided gluten-free food.

The case against Skochilenko was opened in the spring; on April 13, she was sent into custody. According to investigators, the girl replaced 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 activist admitted distributing the leaflets, but she does not consider herself guilty and denies that she disseminated false information.

• 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 200 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 (Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation) 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 does not come from official Russian sources. The maximum penalty under this article is 15 years in prison.