Russian woman convicted of ‘desecrating’ grave of Putin’s parents
Irina Tsybaneva, 60, left a note on the grave of Putin’s parents saying they had raised a “monster and a killer.”
A 60-year-old Russian pensioner received a two-year suspended sentence after she was found guilty of desecrating the grave of President Vladimir Putin’s parents when she left a note at the cemetery saying they had “a monster and a murderer” raised”. ”.
The court on Thursday found Irina Tsybaneva of St. Petersburg guilty of desecrating Putin’s cemetery motivated by political hatred.
The pensioner said she was motivated by Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Prosecutors had demanded a three-year suspended sentence for Tsybaneva, who was charged in October with desecrating the Putin family plot in St. Petersburg with a note referring to Putin’s late mother and father as “parents of this maniac” , reported independent news sites.
“Death to Putin, you raised a monster and a killer,” the note read, urging the deceased parents to “take him away, he is causing so much pain and trouble,” according to Novaya Gazeta Europe.
“The whole world is praying that he would die,” the note read.
Tsybaneva’s lawyer said she pleaded not guilty because she had not physically desecrated the grave or sought publicity for her action.
The pensioner – who was initially placed under house arrest, was unable to go online and was banned from visiting St Petersburg’s Serafimovskoe cemetery – does not intend to appeal the verdict.
Tsybaneva told the court she wrote the note after seeing news of the war in Ukraine, news outlets reported.
The woman was found guilty of desecrating a cemetery motivated by political hatred. Tsybaneva will also receive two years’ probation.https://t.co/pNp7nrGTVE
— Novaya Gazeta Europe (@novayagazeta_en) May 11, 2023
“After seeing the news, I was overcome with fear, I felt very unwell,” Tsybaneva told the court, according to Novaya Gazeta.
“The fear was so strong that I couldn’t deal with it, and this may be my fault. I barely remember writing it [the note]I have no recollection of the text itself. I realize that I succumbed to my emotions and committed an irrational act. I am sorry that my actions may offend or affect anyone,” she said.
Tsybaneva also said she was confident her note would not be noticed because it was “rolled up in a small tube and did not attract any attention,” the news organization added.
Also on Thursday, a Russian military court sentenced Nikita Tushkanov, a history teacher from Komi in northeastern Russia, to five and a half years in prison for comments he made about last year’s explosion at the Kerch bridge that connects the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine connects to mainland Russia.
Tushkanov was found guilty of justifying “terrorism” and “discrediting” the Russian military for publishing a social media post in October calling the bridge explosion “a birthday present” for Putin.
The Kremlin has unleashed a massive crackdown on criticism of Russia’s war in Ukraine, with critics fired, blacklisted and branded by authorities as “foreign agents” in Russia, in addition to fines and prison sentences. .