The trial of activist Natalya Filonova begins in Ulan-Ude

In Buryatia, the trial begins in the case of activist Natalya Filonova, who is accused of attacking police officers. The preliminary hearing will be held in the October District Court of Ulan-Ude on May 2.

A criminal case against Filonova was opened at the end of October 2022. She is accused of assaulting two police officers, one of whom she allegedly broke a finger while being detained at a rally against mobilization.

Filonova was placed in a pre-trial detention center on November 17 for violating the rules of house arrest, as a sign of protest she went on hunger strike. Then her husband, who lives in another village, went to the hospital with a heart attack, because of which her son, who was staying with his father at the time, was left alone. She warned the investigator in advance about her departure and return home. A 16-year-old boy was sent to an orphanage in Barguzinsky District.

• In March 2023, an employee of the orphanage did not let Filonova’s adopted son go to his mother’s court hearing.
• Natalya Filonova is a journalist who covered protests in Russia. Filonova is 59 years old, she is retired, she is raising a 15-year-old son with a disability alone and receives a pension of 11,400 rubles. In February 2022, she was accused of repeatedly violating the rules of holding a rally and fined 250,000 rubles, which was later canceled. Filonova was fined 500,000 rubles on charges of disobeying a policeman’s demand at the same rally. In April 2022, the activist was again fined 150,000 rubles for participating in actions in support of political prisoners.