Nurse from Crimea sentenced to 7 years in prison over possession of explosives charges by Russian court

A court in Crimea has sentenced Irina Danilovich, a local nurse, activist with the local trade union, and a journalist, to seven years in prison and a 50,000 rubles [€650] fine, Graty reports. 

Danilovich was found guilty of illegal acquisition and possession of an explosive device stored in a spectacle case. The verdict was made by Natalya Kulinskaya, the judge. She declared that Danilovich had been having “anti-Russian” conversations with multiple individuals online where she insulted and intimidated Russian citizens and supported Ukraine.

Danilovich is still under investigation for treason. The judge noted that it was still unclear when and where Danilovich had acquired the explosives, so only possession of it was incriminated.

The nurse pleads not guilty; she says she had the explosives planted on her during a search by the FSB whose officers failed to make her confess to treason and cooperation with Ukraine’s Security Service.

Danilovich was detained in early May, suspected of storing explosives, and sent to a pre-trial facility for two months. The explosives (200 grams of TNT) were found in a spectacle case in Danilovich’s handbag. There were also medical needles and a tourniquet in her handbag, as she works as a nurse. The prosecution claims, however, that the activist planned to use the needles as submunitions.