- author, Anna Ramche
- role, BBC News
A Russian playwright and theatre director has been convicted by a Moscow military court for “justifying terrorism.”
Theatre director Evgenia Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petrić were each sentenced to six years in prison for their work on the play “Finist the Brave Falcon.”
The play is loosely based on real events and tells the story of Russian women who travel to Syria to marry members of the Islamic State during the Syrian civil war.
Lawyers for both women have vowed to appeal the verdict.
The trial, which was held partly behind closed doors, has raised concerns about freedom of expression among those in Russia’s art world.
As well as serving their sentences, both women will also be banned from “maintaining any website” for three years after their release.
They have been detained since May 2023 and will now be sent to prison to serve their sentences, according to Russian news agency RBC.
Prosecutors said the women held positive opinions of ISIS, with prosecutor Ekaterina Denisova claiming the play contained “signs of justifying terrorism,” according to RBC.
At the start of their trial in late May, Bercovic, 39, and Petrychuk, 44, claimed they had staged the play because they opposed terrorism.
Bercovici said the performance was staged to “prevent terrorism”, adding that he had “nothing but condemnation and disgust” towards terrorists.
“I have absolutely no idea what this choice of words has to do with me… I have never shared any form of Islam, extremist or otherwise,” RBC quoted Bercovic as saying.
She and Petrychuk maintained their innocence throughout the trial.
After the women were sentenced, their lawyer Ksenia Karpinskaya said the trial was “totally illegal” and “unfair” and vowed to appeal, although she had “little hope”.
“I want you to know that these girls are completely innocent,” the lawyer added.
Berkovich’s supporters say her charges are linked to a series of poems she wrote criticizing Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine.
Russia’s arts world has come under increasing pressure from the Kremlin since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Several prominent Russian artists, writers and journalists, including newspaper editor Dmitry Muratov and actress Yulia Peresild, have voiced their support for the women.
The play, which premiered in 2020, won two Golden Mask Theatre Awards: Best Original Screenplay and Best Costumes.
Russia has been hit by deadly Islamic militant attacks in recent months in both Moscow and Dagestan, with the Kremlin making unfounded allegations that Ukraine was behind both incidents.
