Philologist Svetlana Drugoveyko-Dolzhanskaya, who acted as an expert for the defense in the criminal case of Sasha Skochilenko, was fired from St. Petersburg State University. this Deputy of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg Boris Vishnevsky reports in his Telegram channel.
According to the deputy, the university management explained their decision by saying that the philologist had committed an “immoral act.” It is not reported exactly what kind of action we are talking about.
At the end of September, the Rotunda publication wrote that the Vice-Rector for Legal Affairs of St. Petersburg State University, Yuri Penov, complained to the university’s ethics commission about Drugoveyko-Dolzhanskaya. He claimed that the philologist “repeatedly spoke sarcastically about the competence of her colleagues” and questioned the competence of St. Petersburg State University experts.
Earlier, Svetlana Drugoveyko-Dolzhanskaya, as an expert for the defense, criticized the linguistic examination of the Skochilenko case, which was compiled by St. Petersburg State University teachers Olga Safonova and Anastasia Grishina. They discovered in the actions of Sasha Skochilenko the spread of false information about the Russian army. At one of the court hearings, Drugoveyko-Dolzhanskaya interrogated Safonova, who was unable to confirm the previously written words in the examination that Skochilenko “deliberately” distorted information about the war.
Sasha Skochilenko is accused in the case of disseminating “fakes” about the Russian army (clause “e”, part 2, article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). The artist was detained on April 11, 2022, and two days later she was taken into custody. According to investigators, she 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 girl admitted distributing the leaflets, but does not consider herself guilty and denies that she disseminated false information.
Since childhood, Sasha Skochilenko has suffered from celiac disease - gluten intolerance. The detention center staff refused to hand over suitable food, but later they provided her with the necessary food. However, it is necessary to organize a separate kitchen for patients with celiac disease, but this is impossible in a pre-trial detention center.
In August 2022, the girl experienced a depressive episode, and after being detained and arrested, she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition, the girl was previously diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder. Doctors prescribed her prescription drugs, but in the pre-trial detention center they refuse to give them to her from time to time, without explaining the reasons.
The prisoner was also diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse and severe arrhythmia. In April, a cardiologist who examined Skochilenko in a pre-trial detention center stated that the girl’s life was under threat - there was a risk of cardiac arrest. At the end of September 2023, Skochilenko reported that she was actually being tortured by hunger: the girl was escorted from the pre-trial detention center before breakfast and returned after dinner.
- Since February 24, 2022—the first day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine—residents of Russian cities have been holding anti-war protests every day and talking about the tragedy online. Anti-war speeches and statements become grounds for criminal prosecution. At the moment, more than 700 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protest against the war with Ukraine. Read more about this in our infographic .
- 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.