The police detained several people near the "Open Space" in Moscow, where the presentation of Sasha Skochilenko's comics was disrupted. SOTA correspondent Lilian Rubtsova and photographer Alexandra Astakhova were detained. A RusNews journalist and several people who came to the presentation were also probably detained near Open Space. Now, none of them are in touch.
According to OVD-Info, the detainees were put face down on the floor, one of them was kicked in the head with a boot until he bled, he also complained of pain in his ribs. Doctors were not allowed to see him. According to Mediazona correspondent Elizaveta Nesterova, the security forces asked him if he celebrated February 23 and hinted at rape with a microphone.
Some of those detained at the presentation were taken to the Basmanny police station. A lawyer from OVD-Info is not allowed into the building.
Earlier, the police broke up the presentation of Sasha Skochilenko's comics, which took place at the Open Space site. Three of her comics were presented, which were published by the support group of the arrested artist in 2022-2023 – "The Book of Depression", "Notes on Depression" and "What is Mania". The publication "Agency" reports that an hour and a half after the start of the presentation, the police arrived. Employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in masks demanded those gathered to leave the premises and began to inspect it.
The meeting participants did not talk about the war in Ukraine – they discussed the problems of psychological education and the work of the artist.
Skochilenko, who faces up to 10 years in prison, was detained on April 11 in the evening, before that her house was searched. According to investigators, on March 31, 2022, in the Perekrestok store, Skochilenko disseminated information about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The artist is accused of leaving messages on the price tags in stores about those killed in the shelling of the Mariupol Drama Theater. The investigator considers the disseminated information to be false, and the action itself – committed due to political hostility.