A Russian court convicted a single father on Tuesday, sentencing him to two years in prison for alleged social media posts that were critical of the war in Ukraine. The investigation was launched after his 13-year-old daughter drew an anti-war picture at school.
When the verdict was given, Alexei Moskalyov was nowhere to be found. Before he could be sent to prison, he fled house arrest and is still on the run after managing to remove his tracking bracelet.
Amid a harsh crackdown on Russian media, Moskalyov was charged with repeatedly discrediting the Russian army, which is classified as a criminal offense under to a new law Russia adopted after the war began.
The 54-year-old Moskalyov allegedly posted about atrocities Russia was committing in Ukraine and referred to political leaders as “terrorists,” although he maintained throughout court proceedings that he did not make these posts.
According to Moskalyov’s lawyer and local activists, the case was brought against him after his 13-year-old daughter, Maria, was caught drawing an anti-war picture in her school. The image reportedly showed missiles flying over a Russian flag at a woman and child and included the phrase, “Glory to Ukraine.”
An investigation was launched and her father was later fined and put under house arrest for the social media comments. Russian authorities then took Maria and placed her in an orphanage, where she still resides.
During the trial, she wrote a supportive letter to her father that said, “Daddy, you’re my hero,” according to the family’s lawyer.
Moskalyov’s case has garnered international attention as the Kremlin continues to punish Russians who voice any sort of anti-war rhetoric.
A human rights group called OVD-Info that tracks political cases in Russia has registered an increase in the amount of prison sentences for this sort of alleged crime.
Also on Tuesday, at a court in St. Petersburg, a woman faced up to five years in prison for leaving a note on the grave of President Vladimir Putin’s parents. “You raised a monster and a killer,” it read in part.
Earlier this month, a Russian couple was sentenced to roughly seven years in prison for defacing buildings with spray-paint and writing anti-war and anti-government slogans.
Last week in Moscow, police raided a bar and detained almost 40 people after allegations that they were raising money in support for Ukraine.