In St. Petersburg, the First Western District Military Court convicted a couple, artist Anastasia Dyudyaeva and jeweler Alexander Dotsenko, of calls for terrorism linked to napkins bearing Ukrainian inscriptions found at a Lenta supermarket. The case was reported by Fontanka and confirmed by court documents released to the public.
Dyudyaeva received a sentence of three years and six months in a penal colony, while Dotsenko was sentenced to three years in a general regime penal facility. Prosecutors had asked for four years for each spouse, to be served in a general regime colony.
The two were detained at their residence in the village of Taitsy, in the Leningrad Region, in January, following a complaint from shoppers. The operation involved the Federal Security Service and riot police, according to Fontanka, who noted that the napkins were discovered by two women among items on Tallinn Highway items at Lenta.
The napkins contained poems honoring the New Year and referencing events in Ukraine, with some lines urging action against Russian President Vladimir Putin, investigators said.
Officials noted that the authors of the napkins were identified as Dyudyaeva and Dotsenko, who appear on Rosfin’s list of individuals associated with terrorism and extremism. The couple, however, denied any involvement, insisting they were simply shopping when the items were found.
Previously, reports from the Russian Interior Ministry indicated that journalist Svetlana Prokopyeva, who has been labeled a foreign agent in Russia, was being sought in connection with ongoing inquiries. [Fontanka]