Russian artist Alexandra Skochilenko, known as Sasha, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for spreading what the court deemed “false information” about the army. The charges stem from her unconventional protest against Russia’s offensive in Ukraine, where she swapped supermarket price tags with slogans critical of Moscow’s military intervention.
As Judge Oksana Demiasheva delivered the verdict, supporters within the courtroom expressed their disapproval, shouting “shame” and rallying behind Skochilenko with chants of “we’re with you Sasha.” Some even displayed banners declaring that she should not go to prison. The artist’s lawyers, however, left the courtroom without providing any comments.
Wearing a colorful T-shirt adorned with a large red heart, Skochilenko made a heart shape with her hands and smiled at her supporters during the hearing. In a closing statement, she expressed a desire for peace, questioning the need for conflict. “Every person in this room wants only one thing: Peace. Why fight?” she said.
Skochilenko, 33, stated in a previous hearing that her sole motivation was to stop the war. Despite admitting to swapping the price tags, she maintained that the written messages were not false, emphasizing her role as a pacifist.
The verdict has drawn criticism from various quarters, with opposition figures and human rights groups denouncing the ruling as a reprisal. Boris Vishnevsky, a politician associated with the opposition Yabloko party, criticised the severity of the sentence, stating, “They sometimes give less for murder than for five price tags in a supermarket.”
Skochilenko, who openly identifies as gay, has suggested that persecution against minorities in conservative Russia may have played a role in her trial. She also suffers from health issues, including coeliac disease and a congenital heart defect, making a long prison term a potential “catastrophe.”
Rights groups like Amnesty International and Memorial, despite being banned in Russia, have rallied behind Skochilenko, designating her a political prisoner. Memorial has launched a campaign calling for her release, emphasising the artist’s persecution as emblematic of the broader oppression faced by Russians openly opposing their country’s actions.
