A Moscow city court has reduced the jail sentences of members of an ultranationalist group that disrupted the screening of a Ukrainian war film earlier this month.
Members of the ultranationalist SERB (South East Radical Bloc) group and the Union of Paratroopers interrupted the Dec. 10 screening of Bullet's Flight, a documentary about the Ukrainian Aidar battalion, by spraying a pungent gas in the auditorium and shouting, “the blood of the Donbass people is on your hands.”
Police evacuated the hall after the activists threatened viewers, hit a woman and covered the projector.
SERB leader Igor Beketov was originally sentenced to seven days in jail for disobeying police orders to leave the premises, but his term was reduced by two days, the Interfax news agency cited his lawyer, Violetta Volkova, as saying.
The court also reduced the sentence of Oksana Shkoda, another member of the group involved in the incident, and postponed the trial of a third activist. A fourth defendant is still awaiting trial, though he says he is not a member of SERB and was in the auditorium as an audience member.
On Dec. 12, another SERB activist was handed an eight-day jail sentence for disrupting an exhibitition by U.S. photographer Jock Sturges.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
