In Samara, 24-year-old Polina Yevtushenko, who was previously arrested in a treason case, has had her charges increased. This was reported by the human rights project “First Department”.
The case of preparation for high treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code with the application of Part 1 of Article 30 of the Criminal Code) was opened against Yevtushenko in the summer due to the fact that she allegedly persuaded another resident of Samara to join the “Freedom of Russia Legion” to participate in the war on the side of Ukraine. On July 13, the court sent Yevtushenko under arrest for two months, until September 11. Later, a case was also opened against the girl under the article on calls for terrorism (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code) - due to publications about the Legion.
Now she has also been charged with an article on the financing of terrorism (Part 1.1 of Article 205.1 of the Criminal Code). The “First Department” notes that if Yevtushenko is charged under this article, she could face up to 22.5 years in prison. Human rights activists also point out that information about the extension of the preventive measure appeared on the court’s website: the girl will remain in the pre-trial detention center at least until November 11.
On November 14, Yevtushenko was charged with an article about calls for extremism on the Internet (Part 2 of Article 280 of the Criminal Code). She spoke about this in a letter cited by SOTA.
In addition, the girl is being checked under articles about repeated discrediting of the army (Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code) and calls for unleashing an aggressive war (Article 354 of the Criminal Code).
You can support Polina Yevtushenko by writing her a letter through the Zonatelecom service at:
443 047, Samara region, Samara, st. Utevskaya 18A,
IK-15, PFRSI, Evtushenko Polina Sergeevna, born in 1998.
The Russian Freedom Legion is a military unit of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, formed mainly from Russian prisoners of war and volunteers. In March 2023, the Russian Supreme Court declared the organization terrorist and banned its activities. Russians are often brought to administrative responsibility for the symbols used by the Legion, including the white-blue-white flag.
In March 2023, RAPSI noted that at least 20 criminal cases have been opened in Russia regarding connections with the Legion. Such cases are opened under articles on calls for terrorism (Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code), sabotage (Article 281 of the Criminal Code), treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code), participation in an armed formation for purposes contrary to the interests of the Russian Federation (Article 208 of the Criminal Code) and cooperation with a foreign state on a confidential basis (Article 275.1 of the Criminal Code).
Information about these cases is mainly disseminated by security forces. Their messages often talk about tasks allegedly received by the defendants through telegram correspondence: arson, distributing leaflets or transmitting data. Most often, in such cases, we are talking exclusively about the intention to commit such actions.