A Moscow court on July 15 sentenced self-exiled former municipal lawmaker Yelena Kotyonochkina to 7 1/2 years in prison in absentia on a charge of distributing false information about Russia's military. In March 2022, less than a month after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kotyonochkina and her colleague Aleksei Gorinov proposed canceling public events for children due to the invasion because many Ukrainian children and civilians were being killed. A probe was launched against the two, after which Kotyonochkina left Russia, while Gorinov was arrested, tried, and handed a seven-year prison term. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Russian Service, click here.
Russia Sentences Self-Exiled Former Municipal Lawmaker To 7 1/2 Years In Prison
Yelena Kotyonochkina (file photo)