Will Russia ever embrace common democratic principles? Maybe, but the day seems to be far and remote. Especially after a 21 year old woman gets convicted to 14 years in jail for running a Telegram channel called “Melitopol is Ukraine”.

The Kyiv Independent explains:

“A Ukrainian woman who ran a Telegram called "Melitopol is Ukraine" in the Russian-occupied city has been sentenced to 14 years in jail, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don said on Oct. 23.

Twenty-one-year-old Yana Suvorova was detained on Aug. 20, 2023, in Melitopol, along with six other RIA Melitopol journalists and administrators of the channel.

Russia accused her of "organizing and participating in a terrorist group," "terrorist acts," "espionage," and "committing a terrorist act with significant consequences as part of a group," as well as allegedly being recruited by Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR).

The court said that Suvorova published pro-Ukrainian posts in the Telegram channel and "collected and verified information on the deployment of military personnel and law enforcement officers of the Russian Federation."

"Yana Suvorova was sentenced by Russia in an unfair trial to 14 years in prison for 'terrorism' and 'espionage' for simply doing her job as a journalist," Reporters Without Borders said on Oct.”

When will it end? 😔

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I'm Thomas, co-founder at Civipedia where I work with people passionate about democracy and social justice. Together, we connect people and organisations, we advise, we train and we build tools to make sure that public policies are the product of balanced cooperations reflecting the common good.

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(Source: instagram.com/p/DQM1Zhn…)