Activist Marina Melikhova again accused of discrediting Russian Army

The police considered a video with a verse by Kuban activist Marina Melikhova posted on YouTube as discrediting the Russian Armed Forces. Marina Melikhova noted that she did not post the video, since at that time she was serving her sentence in a SIZO (pre-trial prison) and that she learned about the mentioned video from the police.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on June 8, the court of appeal upheld the sentence of Marina Melikhova, convicted under the article on discrediting the Russian Armed Forces. The Kuban activist claimed that she was subjected to political persecution for her pacifist position and criticism of the country’s authorities.

According to the Marina Melikhova’s version, the reason for the protocol drawn up by the police was the verses she wrote while she was kept at the SIZO. The activist claimed she learned that her verses were posted on the Internet from a video posted on YouTube by an unidentified person.

The video was posted on the “Freedom of Speech” YouTube channel. The video shows a piece of paper with a handwritten verse on it. The verse says that if a Marina Melikhova’s grandfather, who perished in Stalingrad, would have found out what his granddaughter was serving her sentence for, he “would have been shocked.”

“I only learned from the police that my verse, written in prison, became public. I explained to them that I did not distribute the verse and could not distribute it even if I wanted to. The verse is read by a man. I am a woman. The channel does not belong to me,” the activist said.

Marina Melikhova noted that on the day the video was posted, she was kept at the SIZO. “How could I distribute it?” the activist asked a question.

According to the Marina Melikhova’s version, in May, her cell was searched and all her belongings were confiscated, including a folder with papers that contained the verse. “I believe that one of the warders liked my verse when they were rummaging through my belongings, and he decided to make it public through his channels. And when the police saw the verse on the Internet, they came to me,” Marina Melikhova suggested.