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February 18, 2021
A Russian court has sentenced opposition activist Anastasia Shevcenko to 4 years of imprisonment with suspended sentence for collaboration with an organization considered "undesirable" in Russia.
It is "Open Russia", an NGO and non-profit, attributable to Mikhail Khodorkovskij, a former oligarch, who, after serving years of hard prison, now resides in London.
“Open Russia” was registered in Great Britain, but later the autonomous office was registered in Russia, which operated under Russian jurisdiction precisely to avoid being considered a “foreign agent”.
Anastasia Shevcenko spent 2 years under house arrest.
The Russian Criminal Code provides that the criminal investigation can be opened for collaboration with an "undesirable organization" after two fines for the same infringement deemed an administrative offense.
In the case of Shevchenko, the protocols were drawn up for his participation in the debates and seminar of the “Open Russia” project.
Officials from the Center for Combating Extremism considered the activist's mere presence at the seminar a violation of the law.
In the criminal investigation it is also claimed that Anastasia Shevchenko held the "You've got bored" flag against Vladimir Putin's fourth term in an authorized demonstration and spoke at a meeting of the regional section of "Open Russia".
In January 2019, a court placed Shevchenko under house arrest.
In the same month, her disabled 17-year-old eldest daughter died.
The activist was not initially allowed to visit her.