Nadezjda Bujanova, 68, worked until last winter as a doctor at a children’s care center in Moscow.
But now she has been dismissed and risks ten years in prison for spreading so-called false information about the Russian military.
It all started after Anastasia Akinshina, widow of a Russian soldier who died in Ukraine, posted a video on social media. In the clip, Akinsina angrily claims that the doctor, during a visit to the clinic, mocked her husband and said that he was a “legal target for Ukraine”.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, over 900 criminal investigations have been launched against Russians who in one way or another expressed criticism of the war. Bujanova, who is originally from Lviv in western Ukraine, is accused of spreading “false information” about Russia’s armed forces. She is also suspected of having done it because she feels hatred towards ethnic Russians, which means she risks ten years in prison.
– Akinsina has slandered me. I am a doctor. How could I have said such a thing?, Bujanova said when the case was raised in Russian court this week.
Word against word
Bujanova’s defender, the lawyer Oskar Cherdzhinev, believes that words stand against words. Akinsjina had come to the childcare center with her seven-year-old son but, according to the lawyer, the son had left the room and did not hear the conversation.
– There is no sound recording. The prosecution is based entirely on the witness’s story, says Cherdzhinev to AFP.
The case has not yet been decided, but the court decided that Bujanova will remain in custody until November. Her case has attracted a lot of attention, both among Russian doctors and the public. An online petition demanding her immediate release has so far collected just over 5,000 signatures.
Life changed
Since the case unfolded last winter, Bujanova’s life has changed completely. She has been fired from her job and security forces searched her apartment in the Moscow suburb where she lives.
When the court process started on Thursday, several people had come to the court to show their support for Buijanova.
– I am proud of her and respect what she stands for, said the doctor Lilija Manichina.