In the city of Seversk, Russia’s Tomsk region, 65-year-old human rights defender Maria Novikova has asked the court for a prison sentence in the court case on spreading “fake news” about the Russian army, due to her not being able to pay the 700,000-ruble [€7,700] fine, OVD-Info and SibReal report.
During the hearing, the prosecution requested Novikova be sentenced to three years in a penal colony. In her final plea, the woman asked the court to sentence her to a real term instead of giving her a fine because she would not be able to loan the money from the bank to pay it.
“I’m asking the court for only one thing — to not be given a fine but instead a prison term, because I would not be able to [get the money] for even the minimum fine [€7,700] stipulated by the article I’ve been charged with,” she said.
According to the prosecution, Novikova “spread false information” about the Russian Armed Forces shelling Ukrainian cities in a Telegram channel Seversk’s Truth that had 170 subscribers. In particular, the channel featured posts about the attempts to capture the city of Enerhodar.
The case against her was initiated on 15 March 2022. The next day, Novikova’s place was searched, and she was put under house arrest. According to her husband, the way the prosecutor acted towards her during the detention caused the woman to have a heart attack.
While she was under house arrest, the woman’s health weakened: after contracting COVID, she ended up having cardiac complications; during hospitalisation, she was scheduled for surgery and told she needed constant medical supervision.
