The father of a Russian man sentenced to two years in prison was arrested because his daughter drew an anti-war picture in Ukraine

In Belarus, a Russian single father was detained, whose daughter was placed in a boarding school after she drew an anti-war cartoon in Ukraine at school.

Last Monday, the day before he was due to be sentenced in absentia to two years in prison for discrediting the Russian army, 53-year-old Alexei Moskalev fled the house where he was under house arrest.

Various sources indicate that he was probably arrested in Minsk, the Belarusian capital. after he turned on his cell phonewhich showed his location.

Speaking to Reuters, lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov said “someone made a mistake” by disclosing his whereabouts.

“Most likely it’s because you’ve been using your cell phone incorrectly,” he said.

It is not clear how he got to Belarus, but people who try to leave Russia undetected by the authorities often do so through Belarusian territory.

criticism of the army

Daughter Moskaleva Masha, 13 years old.was sent to a juvenile home in March, when a criminal case was initiated against his father.

Moskalev was accused of repeatedly criticizing the Russian army on social networks.

This is the latest conviction of a Russian citizen for criticizing the Moscow military, which attracted the attention of the international press after the authorities decided to send Moskalev’s daughter to a boarding school.

“I’m in shock,” said Olga Podolskaya, deputy of the Efremov City Council, after learning on Tuesday about Moskalev’s two-year prison sentence.

“Sentencing someone to prison for expressing their opinion is horrendous. Two years is a nightmare.”

anti-war drawing

Problems in the family began in April last year, Podolskaya told the BBC.

At that moment, school contacted police ToWhat daughter Moskalev there was made a drawing with Ukrainian flag with the words “Glory to Ukraine” and a Russian flag with the inscription “No to war”.

Mosklev contacted Olga Podolskaya last year to tell her about the pressure on him and his daughter.

First, Moskalev fined for commenting on the war in social networks last year.

“The police began checking Alexei’s social networks,” Olga Podolskaya said. “And he was told that he was raising his daughter badly.”

Then the authorities filed charges.

For an anti-war post on social media Aleksey was fined 32,000 rubles (about $415 at the time) on charges of discrediting the Russian military..

A few weeks ago, a criminal case was opened against him for anti-war publications, with the same accusation of discrediting the army.

The charge was brought under the criminal code, as he had previously been found guilty of a similar offence.

The human rights group Memorial, banned by the Russian authorities, has already recognized him as a political prisoner.

*This article was originally published on March 28 and updated with news about the arrest of Aleksey Moskalev.

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