Russia: Father sentenced to prison camp because daughter painted anti-war picture

In Russia, a schoolgirl painted an anti-war picture – with consequences: The girl was taken to a children’s home and her single father (54) was sentenced to two years in a prison camp!

The man had escaped from house arrest before the verdict was announced on Tuesday, a court spokeswoman confirmed. When the news of his escape broke, there was applause in the courtroom in the city of Yefremov, south of Moscow. The 54-year-old was on trial for “repeatedly discrediting the Russian army”.

In the course of the Ukraine war, Russia had tightened the laws and made criticism of the army a punishable offence. Officially, the allegations against the father revolve around comments on social networks. There he is said to have repeatedly criticized Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The man denied it. He claims that access to his computer was used by others without his knowledge.

The case started with a picture of his daughter Masha in drawing class: when the teacher asked the children shortly after the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine When asked to draw pictures in support of the Russian armed forces, the then 12-year-old drew a Russian and Ukrainian flag with the slogans “No to war” and “Glory to Ukraine”.

The school then called the police. A day later, Masha’s father was first taken to the police station and fined him. When his daughter’s comments critical of the war also appeared on the Internet in the winter, the authorities searched his home and initiated criminal proceedings. Several women were sitting in the courtroom demanding his release. But there were also women who demanded imprisonment.

Independent media reported from the courtroom of a staged trial in which alleged witnesses made rehearsed incriminating statements. No evidence was presented. The Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky commented that the power apparatus used the father to punish the child who was not prosecuted by the law. (bw)