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Sasha Skochilenko
ARTIST SKOCHILENKO WAS SENTENCED
TO 7 YEARS IN IMPRISONMENT
Artist Sasha Skochilenko (St. Petersburg, Russia) was arrested on April 11, 2022. She was accused of replacing price tags in the store with stickers about events in Ukraine. Her actions were assessed as “public dissemination of deliberately false information about the use of the Russian Armed Forces based on political hatred.” The court sentenced artist Sasha Skochilenko to seven years in prison.
The prosecutor requested 8 years in prison for Skochilenko with a maximum term of 10 years. As mitigating circumstances, he suggested taking into account the positive characteristics of the artist and her participation in charity events. She called the verdict “a message for society” and added that “I was honest with myself and with the court.” Director Alexander Sokurov, chairman of the Yabloko party Nikolai Rybakov and deputy of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg Boris Vishnevsky (Yabloko) came to support Skochilenko.
Skochilenko did not admit her guilt in disseminating deliberately false information: “I am deeply convinced that I acted in order to protect the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens, but I am afraid that I understand the article differently.” The artist also denies the motive of political hatred. “I am filled with a feeling of compassion. I feel sorry for any soldiers, any civilians and any cities,” she said during the debate.
In her last word, Skochilenko recalled the rebellion of the now deceased head of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and the criminal case, which was closed a day after it was opened. “Why have I been in custody for a year and a half now? Together with murderers, thieves, seducers of minors and organizers of prostitution. Is my humble act really comparable to these crimes?” - said the artist.
(According to materials from Fontanka.ru)