Alexey Ovchinnikov and Olesya Ovchinnikova were detained by the police for a private conversation in which they criticized the war in Ukraine, which has been going on for more than eleven months.
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A couple have been arrested in the Russian city of Krasnodar for disorderly conduct after criticizing the war in Ukraine during a private conversation at a local restaurant. Russian media reported that Alexey Ovchinnikov was sentenced to 15 days in prison, while the woman, Olesya Ovchinnikova, was fined 1,000 rubles (13 euros) and is the subject of a lawsuit for having “discredited” the Russian army.
The case, which took place on Sunday, was first reported by the couple’s lawyer, Alexey Avanesyan, to local newspaper 93.RU. Avanesyan emphasized that the arrest occurred after a private conversationand it was a customer who called the Russian authorities.
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To the lawyer, Alexey and Olesya told that the police handcuffed them and threw them to the ground, after they had been lying in that position for about an hour before being taken to a police station. According to the couple, authorities did not hide that the arrest was related to statements against the Russian special military operation in Ukraine – the designation of Moscow for the conflict.
However, the arrest and subsequent conviction were confirmed to CNN by the Russian human rights watchdog group OVD-Info. The case is not unique and, according to the organization, since 2022 at least 61 processes have already been initiated against people who expressed anti-war positions.
Source: Observadora
