Teen sentenced to 5 years in prison by military tribunal
The 18-year-old girl was prosecuted for expressing her opinion on the war in Ukraine.
The Northern Fleet Military Court, presided over by Judge Ruslan Teslenko, sentenced an 18-year-old native of Arkhangelsk to five years in a general regime colony.
The girl was convicted under three articles of the criminal code: “justification of terrorism”, “public calls for activities aimed against state security” and “public calls for extremist activities”.
Her lawyer has appealed the verdict.
The Arkhangelsk Investigative Committee claims that the reason for the criminal case against the teenager was her writings in social media.
“The investigation and the court established that in November 2024, at her place of residence in the regional centre, the convicted person, who was a minor at the time of the crime, publicly supported the ideology of terrorism in open chats of one of the messengers, and also posted informational materials calling for terrorist and extremist activities.”
The girl's name appeared on the list of “extremists and terrorists” of Rosfinmonitoring. Judging by the girl's social networks, she was interested in art, films, and anime.
In March this year, the Lomonosovsky District Court of Arkhangelsk sent the girl to a pre-trial detention centre. At that time, she was 17 years old.
“In a video published by the FSB-loyal publication Echo Severa, a security officer asks the teenager questions. The girl is interrogated in her bedrom at home.
— Aren’t you worried about the citizens of Russia?
To which the girl replies:
— Are the citizens of Russia worried about me?
The officer continues:
— Did the citizens of Ukraine worry about you?
She then replies:
— Well, at least they didn’t harm me.
The article on “justifying terrorism” is increasingly used by Russian authorities as a tool to pressure dissenters. Real sentences are handed down for words, not actions. History teacher from Komi, Nikita Tushkanov, was sentenced to 5.5 years in a penal colony for an ironic post about the explosion on the Crimean Bridge.
Sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky received 5 years for a YouTube comment in which, according to the investigation, he “justified a terrorist attack”. Both are recognised as political prisoners.
A list published by the human rights centre Memorial includes hundreds of similar cases: people expressing anti-war positions or criticism of the authorities end up behind bars.
