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By Natalie Venegas
Weekend Reporter
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Russia has sentenced a 68-year-old pediatrician to over five years in prison after allegedly criticizing the Russia-Ukraine war.
What Happened?
Dr. Nadezhda Buyanova, who was born in western Ukraine, was convicted on Tuesday of spreading false information about the Russian military and sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison.
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The case began in February when Anastasia Akinshina, the mother of one of Buyanova's patients, reported that the doctor had said her son's father—a Russian soldier reportedly killed in Ukraine—was a "legitimate target" for Ukrainian forces and had blamed Moscow for the war.
Buyanova, 68, denied these accusations when she was arrested in February and has insisted she never made the comments.
In addition, Buyanova's defense argued that the prosecution lacked evidence of any such conversation and alleged that her accuser fabricated the story out of animosity toward Ukrainians, according to the Russian independent news site Mediazona, which reported all of the hearings in the trial.
Her lawyer, Oscar Cherdzhyev, told reporters afterward that the verdict was "unexpectedly harsh" and "monstrously cruel."
"We didn't expect this," he added.
Impact of the Case
The case attracted public outcry, with over 6,500 people signing a petition demanding her release as her supporters criticized the ruling as excessively punitive.
In a tearful closing statement, Buyanova refuted the allegations, expressing deep hurt and stating, "A doctor, especially a pediatrician, is not capable of wishing harm to a child, his mother or traumatizing the child's psyche. Only a monster is capable of this—and of the words that I allegedly said to them," Mediazona quoted Buyanova as saying.
This comes as "spreading false information" about the army has been a criminal offense since March 2022 after Russia adopted a series of laws. This has led to over a thousand cases of political arrests on charges related to speaking or acting out against the war, according to OVD-Info, one of Russia's leading rights groups that tracks political arrests.
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Similar Incidents
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has gone to great lengths to pursue individuals critical of the war. High-profile dissidents have faced severe sentences, with some prominent figures sent abroad as part of a recent prisoner swap with Western countries.
In addition, detentions on charges of spying and collecting sensitive data have become increasingly frequent in Russia since the start of the war.
Recently, a Russian court convicted and sentenced French national researcher Laurent Vinatier to three years in prison for allegedly gathering military data.
Vinatier, 48, was arrested in Moscow in June and admitted guilt, expediting his trial. Prosecutors accused him of failing to register as a "foreign agent" while collecting data on Russia's military activities, which authorities claim posed a risk to national security.
The charges against Vinatier stem from a series of meetings with Russian citizens between 2021 and 2022. Although the indictment did not name his associates, it claimed the information he gathered could have been used against Russia's security interests.
Prosecutors initially sought a sentence of 3 1/4 years for Vinatier, which was reduced slightly in consideration of his cooperation and his immediate confession.
Vinatier's charges related to Russia's foreign agent laws, which require individuals and organizations involved in military-related research or data collection to register with authorities.
However, human rights activists have argued that such legislation, alongside other recent legal measures, is part of a broader Kremlin crackdown aimed at curbing dissent and controlling the narrative around Russia's involvement in Ukraine.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
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