Larissa Kitayskaya

According to OVD-Info

After the annexation of Crimea to Russia, she moved with her family to the mainland of Ukraine. However, in the summer of 2016, the family came to Yalta to sell the flat. The first search in the activist's house took place on 18 July, even before the criminal case was opened. Since there was no court authorisation for the search, the law enforcers, according to Kitayskaya, forced her husband to sign a consent to inspect the flat with threats. The inspection - or rather a detailed search - lasted 13 hours. During the search the activist became ill and had to call an ambulance. The next day, FSB officers came to her apartment and tried to take her, her husband and two other members of her family for questioning. However, the case against the activist was opened only on 12 August. Since that day, the activist has been under a custodial sentence. Larisa Kitayskaya was charged with incitement to hatred through publications in social networks. According to the investigation, she spread "Russophobic" posts on the Internet. Kitayskaya denies writing the texts imputed to her. She insists that the case against her was fabricated and links it to the desire to "squeeze" her Yalta flat. Kitayskaya says that the investigator told her about this intention during interrogations.

The defence notes that the investigation and trial were conducted with numerous violations. The court rejected all the motions of the defence, including the request for an interpreter, and also refused to consider the alibi evidence of the activist.

In December 2017, the court found her guilty and sentenced her to two years of suspended imprisonment.

The Court of Appeal reduced the suspended sentence to one year and ten months.

In January 2019, Kitayskaya's sentence was cancelled due to the partial decriminalisation of Article 282 of the Criminal Code.