A St. Petersburg hairdresser, Anna Alexandrova, has been sentenced to over five years in prison for charges of spreading fake news about the Russian military through social media posts. The case stems from a neighborly dispute, highlighting the ongoing suppression of dissent in Russia amid the Ukraine war.
St. Petersburg Hairdresser Sentenced to Jail for Alleged Anti-War Social Media Posts
St. Petersburg Hairdresser Sentenced to Jail for Alleged Anti-War Social Media Posts
Anna Alexandrova faces over five years in prison for expressing anti-war sentiments amidst Russia's crackdown on dissent since the invasion of Ukraine.
A hairdresser from St. Petersburg, named Anna Alexandrova, has been sentenced to five years and two months in prison on the charge of disseminating fake news regarding the Russian army. Alexandrova claimed she did not post the eight anti-war messages attributed to her on social media, asserting the case was a result of a land dispute with her neighbor.
According to reports, her neighbor lodged a complaint with prosecutors after being sent pictures of the war in Ukraine by Alexandrova’s daughter. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, legislation discrediting the military and spreading fake news has been strictly enforced, leading to a significant crackdown on dissent, which has seen hundreds jailed and independent media silenced.
In a related case, four journalists in Moscow were handed five and a half-year sentences for their affiliations with what authorities deemed an "extremist organization." These journalists, Antonina Favorskaya, Kostantin Gabov, Sergey Karelin, and Artyom Kriger, argued they were simply practicing journalism, yet the court ruled their work supported an anti-corruption group led by prominent opposition figure Alexei Navalny. Notably, Navalny was tragically found dead last year in a penal colony, following his controversial incarceration.
The restrictive laws regarding dissent in Russia have ensnared individuals from various backgrounds, where denunciations have led to jail sentences, echoes of a bygone era when even familial betrayals were celebrated. Anna Alexandrova, a 47-year-old mother of two, was initially arrested in November 2023 due to the eight posts shared through anonymous accounts on the Russian platform VKontakte.
A lawyer representing Alexandrova noted that the situation began as a simple land dispute, but escalated dramatically when allegations of spreading fake news surfaced. Once united against local deforestation efforts, a serious rift grew between Alexandrova and her neighbor, leading to her eventual imprisonment for the online posts. The court has also prohibited her from making further posts for three years following her conviction.
In ongoing developments, legal representatives for a Moscow city councilor, who was the first to receive a full jail sentence under the "fake news" law, have lodged a complaint with the constitutional court over the validity of this legislation. Alexei Gorinov, who received a seven-year sentence for criticizing the invasion at a council meeting, saw his term extended after making additional comments while in prison.
The lawyers representing Gorinov argued that the law, ostensibly aimed at combating misinformation, has been manipulated to punish anti-war perspectives and silences critical viewpoints that oppose the state narrative.
