Aleksey Moskalev, who was sentenced to two years in prison for repeatedly “discrediting” the army through his posts about Bucha on Odnoklassniki, has been detained in Minsk, according to his lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov. Zakhvatov, who had been in contact with Moskalev after he escaped house arrest, wrote a post saying he was unable to confirm for sure but suggested that Moskalev’s detention was a possibility. An unnamed SOTA source claimed that the arrest was likely due to the use of a mobile phone in the apartment that helped authorities in identifying Moskalev’s location. Moskalev was sentenced in absentia by the Efremov inter-district court, which also announced the decision to transfer his 13-year-old daughter to social services when Moskalev was initially placed under house arrest. The case against Moskalev started in April 2022 when his daughter drew a drawing critical of war in an art lesson at school. Mediazona previously covered the case and the Moskalev family’s circumstances in detail.
Aleksey Moskalev from the Tula region, who was sentenced to two years in prison on charges of repeatedly “discrediting” the army for posts about Bucha in Odnoklassniki, was detained in Minsk, lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov, who kept in touch with him after his escape, told Mediazona.
After the response to Mediazone, lawyer Zakhvatov wrote post with the words: “I have no connection with Alexei now. The phone is not answered. I can’t confirm for sure, but according to indirect data, apparently everything is so. It’s a pity”.
Unnamed SOTA source claimsthat the detention, presumably, occurred due to the inclusion of a mobile phone in the apartment, by which it was possible to calculate it.
The Efremov inter-district court of the Tula region announced the verdict to Moskalev on March 28, he himself was not present in court. After the announcement, court spokeswoman Olga Dyachuk said that on the night before the verdict, Moskalev escaped from house arrest.
The judge also announced the decision to transfer the 13-year-old daughter of the convict, Maria Moskaleva, to the care of social services. The girl was sent to an orphanage in early March when her father was placed under house arrest. Later it turned out that in January the Commission on Juvenile Affairs filed a lawsuit to limit the parental rights of both parents of the girl. The hearing is scheduled for April 6th.
The security forces became interested in Moskalev and his daughter in April 2022, when the girl drew an anti-war drawing at an art lesson at school. Mediazona spoke in detail about the Moskalev family and the criminal case against Alexei.
Corrected at 03:28: Added a link to Dmitry Zakhvatov’s post in the telegram channel.
The case of Aleksey Moskalev and his daughter Maria has drawn attention to the issue of freedom of speech and expression in Russia. Moskalev’s imprisonment and his daughter’s placement in an orphanage due to an anti-war drawing have sparked outrage and calls for justice. The fact that Moskalev managed to escape from house arrest and was then detained in Minsk adds a new twist to the story. It remains to be seen what will happen to him and his family, but their plight continues to highlight the need for respect of human rights and the right to freedom of expression in Russia.