Document #2080256
RFE/RL – Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (Author)
A 60-year-old Russian woman may face up to five years in prison for what investigators called the desecration of the grave of the parents of President Vladimir Putin.
Maksim Tsybanyov, a resident of Russia's second-largest city, St. Petersburg, said on October 11 that his mother, Irina Tsybanyova, was detained on October 10 after she visited a cemetery last week and left a written message at the grave of the Russian president’s parents.
According to Tsybanyov, a court in St. Petersburg on October 11 extended his mother's preliminary detainment to 48 hours, within which her pretrial restrictions will be decided.
Tsybanyova's government-appointed lawyer, Sergei Trusov, said that his client was charged with hatred-based desecration of a grave, adding that she may face up to five years in prison if found guilty.
"It is unknown what exactly was written in the message. But she said it was a 'death wish'," Tsybanyov said about his mother’s note. He did not elaborate.
In late September, a page from a school diary was placed at the grave with a message saying: "Dear parents! Your son behaves awfully! He skips history lessons, fights with classmates, threatens to blow up the school! Undertake proper measures!" -- hinting at the war in Ukraine launched by Putin in February.
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