On Monday, a Russian military court sentenced playwright Svetlana Petriychuk and theater director Yevgenia Berkovich to six years in prison. They were found guilty of “justifying terrorism” through their play “Finist the Brave Falcon.”
The two women have been detained since May 2023. The prosecutors accused them of advocating terrorism through their adaptation of a classic tale which tells the tales of Russian women who are brought into the Islamic State group online. Media Prosecutor Ekaterina Denisova said that Petriychuk was holding “very aggressive Islamic ideologies” while Berkovich justified and propagated terrorism. In addition, there is also a three-year bar imposed on both women from “administering websites.”
In 2020, Finist appeared on stage for the first time earning its creators two golden masks, Russia’s highest theatrical prize. After being deceived by her recruiter, she comes back to Russia only to be imprisoned as a terrorist.The authors claimed that it had an anti-terror message.
Berkovich denied the allegations during her not guilty plea saying: “I do not understand at all how this set of words applies to me”. She added that she has never practiced any form of Islam either radical or otherwise. Furthermore, she showed respect for Islam but had nothing but condemnation and disgust towards terrorists.
Russia’s freedom of expression got more scrutiny after this trial which was partially done in camera. This hearing was defined by Ksenia Karpinskaya as absolutely illegal and unfair; thus she would appeal despite little hope.
Famous Russian intellectuals and performers such as Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry A. Muratov and actress Yulia Peresild have condemned the case. Her supporters say that this might be due to critical poems about Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine.
Since Ukraine was invaded by Russia, creative community has been under increasing pressure from Kremlin. It became impossible to oppose war without risking prosecution, and over 99% of criminal proceedings in Russia end with a guilty verdict.
The pronouncement came following the recent deadly attacks by Islamic terrorists in Moscow and Dagestan, even though there are no proven links to Ukraine. This case epitomizes the wider repression of dissent and artistic expression throughout Russia which has attracted international attention and condemnation.
