More than 100 Russian doctors have signed an open letter released this Saturday demanding the immediate release of the artist and musician sentenced to seven years in prison for exchanging supermarket price tags for anti-war messages.
The letter calling for Sasha Skochilenko’s release is addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin and warns that time in prison could cause a “significant deterioration” in the 33-year-old artist’s health.
Skochilenko was “diagnosed with a number of serious chronic illnesses that require appropriate medical supervision and a special diet,” the letter states, going on to note doctors’ outrage at the “evident injustice of the verdict.”
A Russian court convicted Skochilenko on Thursday. She was arrested in her native St. Petersburg in April 2022 and accused of spreading false information about the military with her messages opposing the war in Ukraine.
“The Russian army bombed an art school in Mariupol. About 400 people were hiding there to protect themselves from the bombing,” read a replaced price tag. Another said: “Russian recruits are being sent to Ukraine. The lives of our children are the price of this war.”
A supermarket customer who found these slogans reported them to the authorities. Skochilenko did not deny the facts but rejected the accusation of spreading deliberately false information.
Skochilenko’s arrest came about a month after authorities adopted a law that effectively criminalizes any public expression about the war that deviates from the Kremlin’s official line. The legislation has been used in a widespread crackdown on opposition politicians, human rights activists, and ordinary citizens critical of the Kremlin. Many of them have received long prison sentences.
Because Skochilenko was imprisoned for almost 19 months before her trial, the seven-year sentence will be reduced by more than two years, as each day served in a pretrial detention center counts as 1.5 days served in a penal colony. regular.
But in that time he has suffered health problems that include a congenital heart defect, bipolar disorder and celiac disease, according to his lawyers and partner.
Russia’s most prominent human rights group, Memorial, co-winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, has declared Skochilenko a political prisoner. According to OVD-Info, a human rights group that monitors political arrests and provides legal assistance, a total of 19,834 Russians were arrested between February 24, 2022, when the war in Ukraine began, and the end of October this year by speak or demonstrate against the war.