Alexei Moskalyov sits in a courtroom in Yefremov, Tula region, some 300 kilometres south of Moscow, Russia, Monday, March 27, 2023. AP
Alexei Moskalyov sits in a courtroom in Yefremov, Tula region, some 300 kilometres south of Moscow, Russia, Monday, March 27, 2023. AP
Alexei Moskalyov sits in a courtroom in Yefremov, Tula region, some 300 kilometres south of Moscow, Russia, Monday, March 27, 2023. AP
Alexei Moskalyov sits in a courtroom in Yefremov, Tula region, some 300 kilometres south of Moscow, Russia, Monday, March 27, 2023. AP

Russian man whose daughter drew pro-Ukraine picture flees to avoid jail


Soraya Ebrahimi
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A single father who was separated from his daughter has fled house arrest before being sentenced to two years in prison over "discrediting" the Russian army, officials said.

Alexei Moskalyov, 54, gained attention after his daughter Maria drew a picture at school showing missiles next to a Russian flag heading towards a woman and child standing by a Ukrainian flag.

Mr Moskalyov then faced a criminal case for allegedly criticising Russia's assault on Ukraine and on Tuesday he was given a two-year jail sentence over comments on social media.

But in a dramatic turn of events, court officials said Mr Moskalyov had fled house arrest.

He has been separated from his 13-year-old daughter as punishment for his criticism of Kremlin policies, a first in Russia, experts say.

"The verdict was read out in the absence of the defendant, because he disappeared and did not appear at the hearing," Elena Mikhailovskaya, a spokeswoman for the Yefremov district court south of Moscow, told AFP.

Mr Moskalyov's lawyer Vladimir Biliyenko said he was in a "state of shock".

"His disappearance is a total surprise for me. This has happened for the first time in my career," Mr Biliyenko told AFP.

He said that Maria could be sent to an orphanage "within a month".

Russia's top human rights organisation Memorial, which has been shut down by Russian authorities, said on Facebook that it considered Mr Moskalyov a "political prisoner".

It said separation from his daughter was a "repressive act and an attempt to intimidate all opponents of the war, not only with prison terms but also the destruction of their families and pressure on children".

Ukraine and Russia conflict latest - in pictures

  • Ukrainian soldiers fire a howitzer towards Russian positions, near Bakhmut in Ukraine. AP
    Ukrainian soldiers fire a howitzer towards Russian positions, near Bakhmut in Ukraine. AP
  • Resident Svetlana Boiko, 66, who was wounded in recent shelling, is comforted near her destroyed house in Donetsk. Reuters
    Resident Svetlana Boiko, 66, who was wounded in recent shelling, is comforted near her destroyed house in Donetsk. Reuters
  • A wounded Ukrainian soldier is treated in a front-line stabilisation ambulance, near Kreminna. Reuters
    A wounded Ukrainian soldier is treated in a front-line stabilisation ambulance, near Kreminna. Reuters
  • A house in Donetsk destroyed in recent shelling. Reuters
    A house in Donetsk destroyed in recent shelling. Reuters
  • Ukrainian volunteer soldiers hold their positions at the front line near Bakhmut. AFP
    Ukrainian volunteer soldiers hold their positions at the front line near Bakhmut. AFP
  • Volunteers carry the remains of a Uragan rocket as they clear the area around the Sviatohirsk Cave Monastery in Dolyna. AFP
    Volunteers carry the remains of a Uragan rocket as they clear the area around the Sviatohirsk Cave Monastery in Dolyna. AFP
  • A man sits inside a damaged car in the village of Chasiv Yar. AFP
    A man sits inside a damaged car in the village of Chasiv Yar. AFP
  • Ukrainian servicemen fire at Russian positions in the region of Donbas. AFP
    Ukrainian servicemen fire at Russian positions in the region of Donbas. AFP
  • Rescue workers put out a fire in a house shelled by Russian forces in Kostiantynivka. AP
    Rescue workers put out a fire in a house shelled by Russian forces in Kostiantynivka. AP
  • A Ukrainian serviceman moves towards the frontline city of Bakhmut. AFP
    A Ukrainian serviceman moves towards the frontline city of Bakhmut. AFP
  • Vladyslav, a Ukrainian paratrooper of the 80 Air Assault brigade, rests in a dugout at the front line near Bakhmut. AP
    Vladyslav, a Ukrainian paratrooper of the 80 Air Assault brigade, rests in a dugout at the front line near Bakhmut. AP
  • Residents of the village of Bohorodychne cross the Seversky Donets river to retrieve bread from the other bank. AFP
    Residents of the village of Bohorodychne cross the Seversky Donets river to retrieve bread from the other bank. AFP

The Moskalyovs' case has attracted national attention and led to an online petition calling for the girl to be reunited with her father.

They are from Yefremov, a small town of about 37,000 people 300 kilometres south of Moscow.

The case against Mr Moskalyov was opened after Maria's headmistress contacted the police about her picture with the flags and the missiles.

Police said an online search uncovered comments criticising Moscow's action in Ukraine on the social media profiles of the girl's father.

In early March, authorities placed Maria in a "rehabilitation centre" for minors, while Mr Moskalyov was put under house arrest.

On Monday, prosecutors demanded a two-year prison term for the father.

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine more than a year ago, public criticism of Moscow's offensive in the pro-western country has been outlawed.

In modern Russia, the first recorded attempts to strip activists of parental rights were in Moscow in 2019.

But prosecutors' attempts to punish two families for taking their children to political protests were not successful at the time, however.

Even Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner paramilitary force leading Russia's assault in eastern Ukraine, has voiced support for Maria and criticised the local authorities.

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