Watchdog

A court in Moscow has canceled a suspended three-year prison sentence for prominent Russian theater and film director Kirill Serebrennikov that he was handed in an embezzlement case that many have called politically motivated.

The Khamovniki district court on March 28 also ordered Serebrennikov's criminal record erased because half of the suspended prison term had passed without any violation of parole-like restrictions and he had "fully paid off all fines and fully compensated all damages."

Serebrennikov was handed the suspended, three-year prison term and ordered to pay an equivalent of $10,500 in June 2020.

Serebrennikov's co-defendants, theater producers Yury Itin and Aleksei Malobrodsky, were also found guilty of embezzlement and received three-year and two-year suspended sentences, respectively. Both also received steep fines.

The fourth defendant, former Culture Ministry employee Sofia Apfelbaum, was found guilty of negligence.

The court also ordered Serebrennikov, Itin, and Malobrodsky to repay nearly 129 million rubles (some $1.7 million by the rate at the time) that the court concluded they had embezzled.

Serebrennikov has been hailed as a daring and innovative force on Russia's modern art scene, potentially putting him at odds with cultural conservatives, and has protested government policies in the past.

He has taken part in anti-government protests and voiced concern about the growing influence of the Russian Orthodox Church in the country.

The case against Serebrennikov and his associates launched in August 2017 drew international attention and prompted accusations that Russian authorities were targeting cultural figures who were at odds with President Vladimir Putin and his government.

Prominent Russian and international actors, writers, and directors have expressed their support for Serebrennikov and his colleagues.

Serebrennikov, Itin, Malobrodsky, and Apfelbaum were accused of embezzling state funds that were granted from 2011 to 2014 to Seventh Studio, a nonprofit organization established by Serebrennikov for a project called Platforma.

All four deny any wrongdoing.

Ukraine says it will investigate unverified reports that its soldiers tortured Russian troops captured in the fighting as a result of Moscow's invasion.

"We take such cases extremely seriously.... There will be an investigation.... We do not torture POWs," Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said in a post on Telegram on March 28.

Arestovych published the post after a video circulated on social media appearing to show Ukrainian soldiers physically torturing Russian troops after their capture in Ukraine.

In the video, at least three Russian soldiers appear to have been shot in the legs after being detained, while some have white bags on their heads.

He added that "every member of the defense forces will be told that such behavior is considered absolutely unacceptable, that it is a war crime."

The incident, which Arestovych did not directly confirm as having taken place, allegedly happened in a village on the eastern outskirts of Kharkiv on March 25.

The contents of the video have not been independently verified, and some have warned it could be an attempt by Russia to discredit Ukrainian soldiers.

Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Iryna Venediktova said the video could not be taken at face value.

"We need proof," she said in an interview with Sky News. "If militaries from [the] Ukrainian side are guilty, we will investigate them and take them to court."

Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, both sides have accused the other of committing war crimes.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian investigators would look into the video, which he said contained "monstrous images" and needed to be legally assessed.

Valeriy Zaluzhniy, commander of the Ukrainian armed forces, said in a statement on Facebook that members of the Ukrainian armed services and other legitimate military formations "strictly adhere to the norms of international humanitarian law."

Zaluzhniy also noted that "the enemy" produces videos with the inhuman treatment of alleged Russian prisoners by Ukrainian soldiers "in order to discredit the Ukrainian Defense Forces."

He did not provide any evidence to support his accusation.