Russian theater director and playwright go on trial over a play authorities say justifies terrorism
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Russian court on Monday opened the trial of a theater director and a playwright accused of advocating terrorism in a play, the latest step in an unrelenting crackdown on dissent in Russia that has reached new heights since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.
Zhenya Berkovich, a prominent independent theater director, and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk have been jailed for over a year. Authorities claim their play “Finist, the Brave Falcon” justifies terrorism, which is a criminal offense in Russia punishable by up to seven years in prison. Berkovich and Petriychuk have both repeatedly rejected the accusations against them.
Berkovich told the court on Monday that she staged the play in order to prevent terrorism, and Petriychuk echoed her sentiment, saying that she wrote it in order to prevent events like those depicted in the play.
Related articles
Iran helicopter crash that killed President Raisi could reverberate across the Middle East
JERUSALEM (AP) — The helicopter crash in which Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s foreig2024-05-21Chinese business group slams EU probe into trainmaker
The main Chinese business group in the EU on Saturday slammed the EU's so-called anti-trust investig2024-05-21Mars probe Tianwen 1 leaves Chinese mark on red planet
By Yu Jianbin (People's Daily) 09:19, May 18, 2021“The landing left a Chinese mark on Mars for the f2024-05-212022 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit sees record participants
This photo taken on Nov. 9, 2022 shows the release ceremony for world leading internet scientific an2024-05-21Yvette Fielding says her Most Haunted co
Yvette Fielding claims her Most Haunted co-star Derek Acorah was a fake who tried to grope and kiss2024-05-21Steps to attract more Chinese visitors urged
Industry insiders have called for favorable policies to attract Chinese visitors as several cities i2024-05-21
atest comment