A military court in southwestern Russia’s Belgorod region sentenced Nadezhda Rossinskaya, an anti-war activist who helped Ukrainian refugees, to 22 years in prison on charges of treason and terrorism, her lawyer and local media reported Friday.
Rossinskaya, who also goes by the name Nadine Geisler, was arrested in February 2024 on suspicion of “inciting activities directed against national security.” She was later charged with financing terrorism and treason.
Rossinskaya’s volunteer initiative, Armiya Krasotok (Army of Beauties), claims to have helped 25,000 people in occupied Ukraine between 2022 and 2023.
She said she fled to Georgia in May 2023, soon after Russian authorities arrested a young woman who had donated to her initiative. Rossinskaya is believed to have returned to the Belgorod region, where she was arrested on Feb. 1, 2024, to help a Ukrainian dog owner and her 46 pedigree poodles flee Russia.
Russian authorities added Rossinskaya to the country’s list of terrorists and extremists in October 2024. She is listed as having been born in Kazakhstan in 1995.
On Thursday, prosecutors requested a prison sentence of 27 years for Rossinskaya. Her defense attorney was reported to ask for an acquittal.
Rossinskaya herself said she would request to be sentenced to 27 years in prison and one day to set a “new Russian record” if the judge refused to acquit her.
On Friday, the Second Western District Military Court sentenced her to 22 years in prison after finding her guilty on all three of the charges.
In addition, the court fined Rossinskaya 320,000 rubles ($4,000), according to her lawyer Alexei Pryanishnikov.
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