Russian court fines war critic who asked for prison instead

By DASHA LITVINOVA
Associated Press

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A court in Russia has convicted a woman from a Siberian city over social media posts condemning the war in Ukraine and punished her with a steep fine even though both she and the prosecution had asked for a prison sentence. Marina Novikova was found guilty on Friday of “spreading false information” about the Russian army. That was made a criminal offense after Russian troops entered Ukraine last year. Novikova’s social media posts decried the invasion and criticized the Russian government. Russian human rights group OVD-Info says the court fined Novikova over $12,000. Novikova had pleaded to be sent to prison instead, saying she didn’t have the money to pay even a smaller fine.