A court in the Siberian city of Tomsk, Russia, has sentenced a 21-year-old student to nine years in prison for "treason" after she donated money to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
This development was reported by the independent news outlet Mediazona.
The Case of Tatyana Laletina
Tatyana Laletina, a student and artist from Tomsk, was sentenced on 28 June. Treason cases in Russia often take months to reach public attention due to the closed-door nature of these trials.
Here's what is known so far: Laletina was detained in February at her flat in Tomsk.
According to one of her friends, who spoke to Mediazona on the condition of anonymity, Laletina had donated $10 to the AFU on 24 February 2022, the day Russia invaded Ukraine, and another $20 in April of the same year.
Convictions for treason in Russia carry a penalty of 12 to 20 years in prison.
In that respect, Laletina received a relatively lenient sentence of nine years.
In a letter to her friend, as quoted by the independent media outlet Govorit NeMoskva, Laletina expressed relief at the sentence: “I went back to my cell and rejoiced — only 9 years!”
It remains unclear whether Laletina pleaded guilty to the charges.
Laletina keeps a journal in prison, continuing her artistic pursuits.
She wrote in a letter, “When all this horror is over, I can reread my thoughts and refresh my memory,” adding, “these days, my story is just an everyday occurrence.”
