A Russian court has sentenced a playwright and theater director to six years in prison for allegedly “justifying terrorism”, Reuters reported.
Director Zhenya Berkovich, 39, and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk, 44, were arrested in May last year for staging a play called "Finist, the Brave Falcon", about Russian women who marry fighters of the Islamic State, quoted by News.bg.
The trial, which lasted seven weeks, was heavily criticized by both international activists and members of the Russian artistic community. Many define it as a politically motivated attempt to limit freedom of speech.
Judge Yury Masin agreed with the prosecutor's request to close the trial to the public because of the threats to the participants. Despite the closed nature of the trial, defense lawyer Ksenia Karpinskaya promised to appeal the sentence.
„Of course, we will appeal this decision, although we do not have high hopes,” Karpinskaya said, stressing the innocence of Berkovich and Petrychuk.
Berkovich and Petrychuk are adamant that their goal was to condemn terrorism, not glorify it.
This case marks one of the most high-profile prosecutions of Russian cultural figures since tensions escalated following Moscow's military action in Ukraine in 2022.