Security forces demand tougher sentence for Russian woman convicted in absentia for anti-war posts

The Prosecutor’s Office in the closed town of Mirny in the Russian Arctic has appealed against the sentence handed down to local woman Lidiya Prudovskaya for “discrediting” the army as being too lenient, Prudovskaya wrote on Facebook on Monday.

The prosecutor asked the court to change the sentence from a fine of 200,000 rubles (€2,200) to two years in a penal colony, Prudovskaya wrote. According to the prosecutor, Prudovskaya had not admitted her guilt or expressed remorse, proof of which was that she “fled from justice” with her adopted son.

Prudovskaya and her children had left Russia for an unspecified location by the time the case came to court in March 2024, despite her having signed a written undertaking to remain in the country. The court initially suspended the case, but due to legislative changes that allow for certain trials to go ahead in absentia, it resumed in April and she was fined in absentia on 6 June.

The security forces have now placed Prudovskaya’s adopted son Yevgeny on the wanted list. In April 2024, the authorities unilaterally terminated the foster agreement that was in force and stripped Prudovskaya of her duties as a foster mother. Yevgeny has been with the family for over 10 years.

The criminal case against Prudovskaya was opened in June 2023 for anti-war posts on popular Russian social media platform VK. During the investigation, the security forces interrogated her 9-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son, refusing to allow her to be present, instead entrusting the guardianship role to the authorities.