Russian Student Olesya Krivtsova Under House Arrest For Anti-War Posts On Instagram
Russian student Olesya Krivtsova has been missing a lot of classes for past many months, it is because the Russian authorities have put her under house arrest for allegedly posting anti-war comments and criticising President Vladimir Putin.
Apart from this, Olesya Krivtsova from Arkhangelsk has also been designated as a terrorist by the Russian authorities for protesting the war on Instagram and could face imprisonment for at least ten years upon trial completion. Olesya has an electronic tag on her leg so that police can monitor her every move.
“I posted an Instagram story about the bridge,” Olesya told the BBC, adding “I was talking on the phone to my mother.”
Olesya recalls, “when I heard the front door opening. Lots of police came in. They took away my phone and shouted at me to lie on the floor.”
According to BBC, Olesya has been charged with justifying terrorism and discrediting the Russian armed forces.
The Russian student was detained for the first time in December last year after one of her friends tipped off the police with the screenshot of her post. However, she was acquitted by the district court, which restricted her communication and dismissed the prosecution’s demand to ban her movements.
However, she was again detained by the authorities for the second time, and the reason behind the action was seen with suspicion.
Her mother, Natalya Krivtsova, said the investigators accused Olesya of buying tickets “toward Russian borders” and also violating the imposed restrictions, even though her passport was damaged a few weeks earlier, making it invalid for travel under Russian regulations.
A student at Northern (Arctic) Federal University in Arkhangelsk in northwest Russia, Olesya is also being prosecuted for allegedly defaming the Russian army by reposting a discussion on the conflict in a student chat on the Russian social network VK.
Olesya is right now under house arrest in her mother’s apartment in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk area and she is not allowed to access the internet or other kinds of communication while she is there.
