A 16-year-old girl is in pre-trial detention in St. Petersburg for putting up posters of anti-establishment fighters on a bulletin board at her school, a local court announced on Dec. 29.
Russian authorities ramped up their crackdown on political opposition following the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Voicing discontent with Russia's war or Russian authorities can lead to heavy penalties.
The child, who the Kyiv Independent has chosen not to identify, allegedly put up posters titled "Heroes of Russia" with photos of Denis Kapustin and Aleksiy Levkin on Dec. 26. Kapustin and Levkin are fighters in the Russian Volunteer Corps, a militant group established by Kapustin who has fought alongside Ukraine and opposes the rule of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian authorities detained the accussed on Dec. 27, charging her with "public calls for committing terrorist activities or public justification of terrorism."
If convicted, Russian courts could impose hefty fines or several years in prison on her.
According to the local court, the accused requested house arrest as she awaits trial.
Nearly 20,000 people have been detained in Russia, including previous instances of child detentions, for alleged antiwar activities since the start of their full-scale invasion in February 2022, Freedom House reports.
Prominent Russian lawyer, Dmitry Talantov was sentenced to seven years in prison on Nov. 28 following his arrest in June 2022. Talantov was convicted of inciting hatred and spreading what Russian law enforcement called "false information" about the Russian military.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
