Russian teen faces years in jail over social media post criticizing war in Ukraine - CNN

CNN  — 

Olesya Krivtsova sports an anti-Putin tattoo connected 1 ankle and a bracelet that tracks her each determination connected the other.

The 19-year-old from Russia’s Arkhangelsk portion indispensable deterioration the instrumentality portion she is nether location apprehension aft she was charged implicit societal media posts that authorities accidental discredit the Russian army and warrant terrorism.

Russian officials added Krivtsova to the database of terrorists and extremists, connected a par with ISIS, al Qaeda and the Taliban, for posting an Instagram communicative astir the explosion connected the Crimean bridge successful October that besides criticized Russia for invading Ukraine.

Krivtsova, a pupil astatine Northern (Arctic) Federal University successful the northwestern metropolis of Arkhangelsk, is besides facing transgression charges for discrediting the Russian service for making an allegedly captious repost of the warfare successful a pupil chat connected the Russian societal web VK.

Currently, Krivtsova is staying nether location apprehension successful her mother’s flat successful Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk region, banned from going online and utilizing different forms of communication.

“Olesya’s lawsuit is not the first, nor is it the last,” Alexei Kichin, Krivtsova’s lawyer, told CNN.

Kichin said the teen whitethorn look up to 3 years successful situation for discrediting the Russian service and up to 7 years successful situation nether the nonfiction of justification of terrorism. However, Krivtsova’s ineligible defence hopes for a softer punishment specified arsenic a fine.

Independent quality rights show OVD-Info said astatine slightest 61 cases were initiated successful Russia successful 2022 connected the charges of justification of coercion connected the internet, with 26 starring to sentencing truthful far.

Olesya’s mother, Natalya Krivtsova, says the authorities is trying to springiness a informing to the public, with her girl being successful effect “publicly flogged” for not keeping her views to herself.

“We unrecorded successful the Arkhangelsk portion and this is simply a immense portion but excessively distant from the center. There are nary much protests successful Arkhangelsk, truthful they are trying to strangle everything that is near astatine its aboriginal stage,” Natalya Krivtsova told CNN.

A section caput of the Communist Party, Alexander Novikov, publically mocked the teen connected authorities television, calling her a fool who should beryllium sent to the beforehand lines successful Ukraine’s eastbound Donbas portion truthful that she could “look into the eyes” of the subject warring arsenic portion of the Arkhangelsk battalion.

This is not Olesya Krivtsova’s archetypal run-in with the authorities for publically airing her views. Last May, she faced administrative charges for discrediting the Russian service by distributing anti-war posters.

Matters became much superior erstwhile she was accused of discrediting the Russian service connected societal media past October. According to Krivtsova’s lawyer, a repetition discourtesy nether the aforesaid nonfiction turns into a transgression case.

“She has a heightened consciousness of justice, which makes her beingness hard. The inability to stay soundless is present a large misdeed successful the Russian Federation,” her parent told CNN.

According to Natalya Krivtsova, constabulary burst into an flat connected December 26 wherever her girl was surviving with her hubby Ilya, forcing the young radical to prevarication look down connected the crushed and allegedly threatening them with a sledgehammer, which the officers told her was a “hello” from the Wagner Group, a backstage subject contractor headed by Yevgeny Prigozhin.

CNN has reached retired to the authorities constabulary successful Arkhangelsk for comment.

“Olesya was precise frightened due to the fact that she saw the video successful which a prisoner was killed with a sledgehammer,” her parent told CNN.

In the notorious video referred to by Natalya Krivtsova, mercenaries from the Wagner Group, which actively recruits prisoners, seemingly executed a erstwhile convict, Yevgeny Nuzhin, with a sledgehammer aft helium attempted to fly his post. The video statement said: “The traitor received the traditional, primordial Wagnerian punishment.”

“The authorities has immoderate unusual policies: prisoners spell to war, and children spell to prison,” she said.