A Russian court sentenced Lyusya Shtein, a member of Pussy Riot and a former municipal deputy in Moscow, to six years in prison in absentia for anti-war social media posts, the court’s press service said on Wednesday.
Shtein, 27, was found guilty of spreading “war fakes” in connection with a March 2022 post on X, in which she accused Russian soldiers captured by Ukraine of “bombing foreign cities and killing people”, Russian independent news outlet Mediazona reported.
Russia calls UK courts ‘a farce’ over WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange case
Russia calls UK courts ‘a farce’ over WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange case
Those found guilty of spreading “false information” about Russia’s army risk 10 years in prison.
Pussy Riot, a feminist opposition group, rose to prominence by donning balaclavas and storming into Moscow’s Christ the Saviour Cathedral in February 2012, shouting out a song against Putin. Many of its members have been jailed in Russia.
Pussy Riot band member escapes Russia dressed as food courier
Pussy Riot band member escapes Russia dressed as food courier
Just weeks after the invasion of Ukraine began, Shtein fled house arrest in Moscow with her girlfriend and fellow Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina.
Prosecutors had requested an eight-and-a-half year sentence for Shtein, who on Wednesday joked in a post on X that her mother had “bet” they would ask for nine years.