Russian opposition activist slits wrists in court

Russian opposition activist Tuesday cut open veins in her arm in a courtroom protest in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, a women’s rights movement said.

The activist, Olga Suvorova, “cut her veins in protest in the courtroom” and was taken to hospital, the Soft Force women’s rights movement wrote on Telegram.

It posted a video showing Suvorova holding up her left arm with bleeding cuts and saying: “It’s my sentence, I have the right, I protest against this sentence.”

Russia has ramped up its harsh crackdown on dissidents and opposition movements since launching its 2022 offensive in Ukraine.

The Zheleznodorozhny district court had found Suvorova guilty on a charge of filing a false report against a police officer and issued her with a fine of 125,000 rubles ($1,300).

In October 2023 Suvorova said she was attacked by a police officer who shoved her out of a station leaving her with bruises.

In December she was detained at Krasnoyarsk airport and charged with making a false report of a serious crime.

The movement said she was later forced to undergo a 30-day evaluation in a psychiatric hospital.

Soft Force was created in 2022 just before Russian forces entered Ukraine. The justice ministry last year labelled it a “foreign agent”.

Among those participating in Soft Force are political activist Yulia Galyamina and politician Yekaterina Duntsova, who attempted to stand against President Vladimir Putin in this year’s presidential election.

AFP