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. |
Sancho, Reus send Dortmund to UCL quartersChongqing springs to life on summer nightsDybala hatLiving Nostradamus warns future epidemics could come from AI laboratoriesMom is arrested after leaving her son, 8, and daughter, 6, in her highTerrifying moment helicopter stalls out and crashed into Mexican mechanic shop killing threeCoach vows to beat Singapore in World Cup qualifierJones carries Xinjiang past Beijing in CBABiden administration announces new partnership with 50 countries to stifle future pandemicsMessi sustains leg injury in Inter Miami win