Paediatrician Nadezhda Buyanova, who is charged with spreading fake information about the Russian army, appeared in court in Moscow on November 8. AFP
A Moscow court on Tuesday sentenced a paediatrician to five-and-a-half years in prison for criticising the Ukraine campaign during a private appointment, after she was denounced by the ex-wife of a soldier killed in combat. Nadezhda Buyanova, 68, was found guilty of spreading 'fake' information about the Russian army, under legislation used to silence dissent.
'I believe this is absurd,' she said in court, moments before judge Olga Fedina announced her sentence. Buyanova was arrested in February after the ex-wife of a soldier who was killed in Ukraine, Anastasia Akinshina, said she had criticised Moscow's role in the conflict.
Several supporters — mostly medics — shouted 'Shame on you!' in the court as the sentence was announced. Grey-haired Buyanova thanked them for coming.
'We must empathise with one another and love others,' she said in court. 'But there is no paradise on earth, there is no peace on earth. And I would like that.' She protested her innocence throughout the trial.
'I am a paediatrician.. I do not regret a single day,' she said. Buyanova was prosecuted despite no public evidence that the conversation took place and after Akinshina's seven-year-old son testified against Buyanova.
Moscow has waged an unprecedented crackdown on dissent as troops fight in Ukraine.
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