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WorldRussian father imprisoned after daughter displayed "No to War" placard

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Russian father imprisoned after daughter displayed “No to War” placard

A Russian man will spend two years in prison after his daughter made a “No to War” poster at school.

Pupils at the Tula-area school were asked to produce artwork that was influenced by Russian soldiers.

13-year-old Masha Moskalyova created a drawing of Kremlin rockets directed at a mother and a kid, along with the words “Glory to Ukraine” and “No to War.”

She was taken inside the school and interrogated by her single father, Alexei Moskalyov.

Authorities later found he had posted his support for Ukraine online and he was ordered to pay a £350 fine.

But, the 54-year-old claims, he then faced further interrogated by the FSB – Putin’s fearsome counterintelligence service.

Masha was taken to a ‘rehabilitation centre’, part of the state orphanage system, and Alexei barred from seeing her as criminal proceedings then began.

Legal action against him continued culminating in today’s sentence.

Masha Moskalyova from Tula region was persecuted for her anti-war drawing
Masha Moskalyova was persecuted for her anti-war drawing (Picture: OVD Info/east2west news)
Olga Podolskaya, an independent local deputy, poses in front of a juvenile social-rehabilitation centre where reportedly Maria Moskalyova, the 13-year-old girl who drew a picture critical of Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine at school in April last year, was moved after investigations had begun into her father Alexei Moskalyov's Ukraine posts discrediting the Russian army, in the town of Yefremov in the Tula region on March 23, 2023. - In the Russian town of Yefremov, residents say they are shocked by the case of a father separated from his 13-year-old daughter because of her drawing criticising Moscow's offensive. (Photo by Natalia KOLESNIKOVA / AFP) (Photo by NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP via Getty Images)
Olga Podolskaya, an independent local deputy, in front of a social-rehabilitation centre where the schoolgirl is reportedly being held (Picture: Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP)

Alexei was found to have ‘repeatedly discredited the army’ and ordered to spend two years in a harsh penal colony.

But there was one issue, the single father wasn’t there to hear the sentence.

Court officials revealed he had ‘escaped’ the night before the court session, with his whereabouts unknown.

‘The verdict was announced today, but the defendant was not present because he escaped last night,’ said court spokeswoman Olga Dyachuk.

Russian citizen Alexei Moskalyov, who is accused of discrediting the country's armed forces in the course of Russia-Ukraine military conflict, stands in a defendants' dock during a court hearing in the town of Yefremov in the Tula region, Russia, March 27, 2023. Press Service of Tula Region Judicial System/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT.
Alexei Moskalyov stands in a defendants’ dock during a court hearing on March 27 (Picture: Reuters)
Alexei Moskalyov, right, is escorted from a courtroom in Yefremov, Tula region, some 300 kilometers (186 miles) south of Moscow, Russia, Monday, March 27, 2023. A court in Russia on Tuesday convicted a single father over social media posts criticizing the war in Ukraine and sentenced him to two years in prison ??? a case brought to the attention of authorities by his daughter's drawings against the invasion at school, according to the man's lawyer and local activists. The 54-year-old Moskalyov, a single father of a 13-year-old daughter, was accused of repeatedly discrediting the Russian army, a criminal offense in accordance to a law Russian authorities adopted shortly after sending troops into Ukraine. (AP Photo)
His whereabouts are unknown (Picture: AP)

There was applause from his supporters in the court.

This marks the first time since the Soviet era that a child has been separated from a parent based on political views.

A day earlier in the witness box in Efremov, Tula region Alexei had said: ‘Those who are in the court are 90 per cent against the war in Ukraine.’

A petition signed by almost 150,000 called Masha’s treatment ‘monstrous’ and cites experts saying there are ‘no legal grounds’ to incarcerate her in a Tula region ‘rehabilitation’ centre.

The girl’s fate will later be decided by the social services authorities.

His lawyer described the sentence – which mirrored the demand by the prosecutors – as ‘harsh’.

Even the head of the Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose men are fighting for Putin in Ukraine, offered his support and criticised the local authorities.

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