Source: ABC News
“More than 100 Russian doctors signed an open letter published Saturday that demands the immediate release of an artist and musician who was sentenced to seven years in prison for swapping supermarket price tags with antiwar messages. The letter calling for Sasha Skochilenko to be freed was addressed to Russian President Vladimir Putin and warned that time in prison could lead to a ‘significant deterioration’ in the 33-year-old artist’s health. Skochilenko was ‘diagnosed with a number of severe chronic diseases that require proper medical supervision and a special diet,’ states the letter, which goes on to note the doctors’ indignation at the ‘obvious injustice of the verdict.’ A Russian court sentenced Skochilenko on Thursday. She was arrested in her native St. Petersburg in April 2022 and charged with spreading false information about the military with her messages opposing the war in Ukraine.” (11/18/23)