A Russian man sentenced to prison on a charge of discrediting Russia's armed forces after an anti-war drawing by his teenage daughter drew attention to him was released on October 15, saying conditions inside the institution were horrible and that he fears he may not be free for long.
SEE ALSO: Russian Police Arrest Father Of Sixth-Grader Who Drew Anti-War PictureAleksei Moskalyov was embraced by his daughter, Masha, as he left the IK-6 prison in the Tula region after serving 19 months in detention in a case that attracted global attention. Masha was placed in the custody of her estranged mother during her father's imprisonment.
Moskalyov told reporters upon his release that security officers questioned people from his unit in the penal colony, raising fears the authorities were preparing new charges against him.
Moskalyov was sentenced to two years in prison, following his outspoken online posts against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which came to light after his daughter’s drawing was reported to authorities.
Her drawing, made in April 2022, depicted a Ukrainian woman shielding a child from Russian missiles, with inscriptions such as “Glory to Ukraine!” and “No to war!”
The artwork prompted school authorities to file a police report, leading to the investigation of Moskalyov’s social media activity.
Initially fined 32,000 rubles ($335) under an administrative charge of “discrediting” the Russian Army, Moskalyov later faced criminal charges for additional posts on social media.
He was convicted in March 2023 and sentenced to two years in prison, though his term was eventually reduced to one year and 10 months.
During his trial, Moskalyov fled house arrest but was later apprehended in Belarus and returned to Russia.
Moskalyov said he had been placed in punitive solitary confinement several times for what his lawyers described as minor "violations" such as "failure to get up quickly" or "not having his hands behind his back."
He described the punitive cell as a "torture chamber" and said the 2-meter by 1-meter cell was rat-infested and so cold "it was impossible to sit on a metal bench inside."