Russia jails theater director

(5 May 2023)
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Moscow - 5 May 2023
1. Exterior of Zamoskvoretsky District Court
2. Various of supporters of Russian theater director Zhenya Berkovich and journalists at the entrance
3. Nameplate reading (Russian) “Russian Federation. Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow”
4. Police in corridor
5. Berkovich being led by police
6. Berkovich in detention cage in courtroom
7. Mid of policeman
8. Close up of Berkovich UPSOUND (Russian) “Guys, well, no (meaning no comments).”
9. Close up of hands
10. Media
11. Wide of Berkovich in detention cage
12. Close up of Berkovich listening to court decision UPSOUND (Russian) Natalya Cheprasova, judge: “(The court decided) to satisfy the investigator’s petition, to appoint Yevgenia Borisovna Berkovich, born on April 29, 1985, a native of the city of Leningrad, a citizen of the Russian Federation, with a higher education, married, with one minor child dependent, who is an individual entrepreneur, registered at Moscow, Leningradsky prospect, house 60, apartment 25, previously not convicted, accused of committing a crime under the second part of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, a preventive measure in the form of detention for a period of two months, that is, until July 4, 2023.”
13. Mid of Berkovich in cage saying “Okay!”
14. Various of Berkovich being led out by police, people applauding
15. Playwright Svetlana Petriychuk led by police into a detention cage in courtroom
16. Mid of hands in handcuffs
17. Petriychuk inside detention cage in courtroom
18. Photographers
19. Various of Petriychuk in detention cage
STORYLINE:

A Russian court on Friday ordered pre-trial detention for a theater director facing charges of justifying terrorism, the latest move in a relentless crackdown on dissent in Russia that spiked to unprecedented levels since the start of fighting in Ukraine.

The Zamoskvoretsky District Court in Moscow jailed Zhenya Berkovich, a prominent independent theater director and playwright, for two months pending investigation and trial.

Berkovich was detained in the Russian capital on Thursday because of the play she staged, “Finest, the Brave Falcon.”

Police also raided apartments of her parents and her grandmother in St. Petersburg.

The play, named after a Russian fairy tale, depicts Russian women, who faced prosecution after being lured into marriage and life in Syria by representatives of radical Islam.

It was written by playwright Svetlana Petriychuk, who was also detained on Thursday and appeared in the same court on Friday right after Berkovich.

The authorities have alleged that the play justifies terrorism, accusations both Berkovich and Petriychuk have rejected, maintaining their innocence.

Justifying terrorism is a criminal offence in Russia, punishable by up to seven years in prison.

The case against Berkovich and Petriychuk elicited outrage in Russia.

An open letter in support of the two artists, started by the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper, has been signed by over 3,400 people by Friday evening.

The play, the letter argued, “carries an absolutely clear anti-terrorist sentiment.”

Dozens of Russian actors, directors and journalists also signed affidavits urging the court to release Berkovich from custody pending investigation and trial.

Immediately after deploying troops to Ukraine, the Kremlin has unleashed a sweeping campaign of repression, unparalleled since the Soviet era.
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