URGENT ACTION

ARTIST FACES UP TO 10 YEARS FOR ANTI-WAR ACTION
Artist Aleksandra Skochilenko was arrested on 11 April and interrogated until 3am the next morning. She is accused of replacing price tags with anti-war information and slogans in a supermarket in Saint Petersburg on 31 March. She was charged with “disseminating knowingly false information about the use of the Russian Armed Forces” and placed in pre-trial detention until 1 June. Aleksandra Skochilenko has a serious health condition and placing her in pre-trial detention, where she would not be getting the appropriate diet or medical care she needs, puts her health and wellbeing at risk. She faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

TAKE ACTION: WRITE AN APPEAL IN YOUR OWN WORDS OR USE THIS MODEL LETTER

Melnik Viktor Dmitrievich
Prosecutor of Saint Petersburg
2/9 Pochtamtskaya street
Saint Petersburg
190000
Russian Federation
Fax: +7 (812) 3182650

Dear Prosecutor,

I am writing to urge you to stop the prosecution of Aleksandra Skochilenko under charges of “disseminating knowingly false information about the use of the Russian Armed Forces” (Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). She is accused of swapping price tags in a St. Petersburg supermarket for anti-war slogans, which does not constitute an internationally recognized crime. She was arrested on 11 April and interrogated until 3am the next morning. Aleksandra Skochilenko has a serious health condition, and placing her in pre-trial detention, where she would not be getting the appropriate diet or medical care, puts her health and wellbeing at serious risk. 

Aleksandra Skochilenko suffers from celiac disease (genetic gluten intolerance). If she consumes gluten, organ failure or oncological and autoimmune diseases may start to develop. It has been reported that the pre-trial detention centre neither provides her with gluten-free food or allows such food to be sent to her. 

Aleksandra Skochilenko is a songwriter and artist from Saint Petersburg. She is internationally famous for her work on destigmatizing mental illnesses that has helped many people inside and outside Russia. 

In light of the above, I urge you to:
-	Immediately drop the criminal case against Aleksandra Skochilenko and release her;
-	Pending that, ensure that Aleksandra Skochilenko's conditions and treatment meet international standards and that she has access to adequate health care and appropriate food at the same standards that are available in the community.

Yours sincerely,

Additional information

Aleksandra Skochilenko is a songwriter and artist from St. Petersburg. She is accused of replacing price tags in local supermarkets with anti-war information, including about those killed during the shelling of the Mariupol Drama Theatre.

On 11 April, police searched Aleksandra Skochilenko’s home, and they arrested and interrogated her until 3am the next morning. On 13 April, the Vasileostrovsky District Court placed her in pre-trial detention until 1 June 2022 (the term is likely to be extended).

Aleksandra Skochilenko is accused of “public dissemination of deliberately false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the exercise by state bodies of the Russian Federation of their powers” under the recently added Article 207.3(2) of the Criminal Code. She faces 5 to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Aleksandra Skochilenko is well-known in the art community: she writes songs, creates comic books and cartoons, organizes concerts and jam sessions. She also wrote the famous “Book About Depression” which helped many people and contributed to destigmatizing mental illnesses. The book has become extremely popular. It has been reprinted several times and translated into various languages. It also has inspired many videos and exhibitions. 
Aleksandra Skochilenko suffers from celiac disease and requires a special gluten-free diet. On 20 April it was reported that her health had deteriorated due to lack of access to adequate food. On 21 April her lawyer informed Amnesty International that the detention centre finally allowed her to receive a food parcel from her family that catered to her gluten-free diet.

On 23 April she was transferred from a temporary detention centre to a pre-trial detention centre.

On 25 April one of Aleksandra Skochilenko’s lawyers visited her in the pre-trial detention centre and reported that her health condition is getting worse. She cannot eat as she is not provided with the diet she requires, and she has not been allowed food provided by her family either. She feels weak much of the time. She has also reported being subjected to pressure from detention centre guards and her cellmates.

PREFERRED LANGUAGE TO ADDRESS TARGET: Russian
You can also write in your own language.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION AS SOON AS POSSIBLE UNTIL: 1 June 2022
Please check with the Amnesty office in your country if you wish to send appeals after the deadline.

NAME AND PREFFERED PRONOUN: Aleksandra Skochilenko (she, her)

Additional TARGET

Mr Andrei Kelin  
Embassy of the Russian Federation 
6/7 Kensington Palace Gardens, London, W8 4QP
Fax: 020 7727 8625 
Email: kanc@rusemb.org.uk