Yabloko’s Elena Perepelitsa Gets Four Years for Donating 3,500 Rubles to the FBK

Yabloko’s Elena Perepelitsa was given four years for donating 3,500 rubles to the FBK

A Moscow court found Elena Perepelitsa, a member of Moscow Yabloko and a psychologist, guilty of financing “extremist” activity, Slovo Zashchite writes.

The prosecution had requested 4.5 years in a general-regime penal colony for her.

Defense lawyer Olga Pelsh said that Elena regrets what she did, transferred the money out of ignorance, and had no malicious intent. She was not a supporter of opposition movements, did not take part in protest actions, FBK events, or Smart Voting projects, the lawyer added.

In her final statement, Elena said that extremist and radical views had never been close to her and that she had always wanted changes for the better in her country only by peaceful means. She also asked the court to show compassion for her loved ones — her ill 85-year-old mother and her elderly husband, who now has to care for her.

Perepelitsa’s case is connected to seven donations to the FBK of 500 rubles each. In total, according to investigators, from August 2021 to January 2022 she transferred 3,500 rubles to the foundation.

She admitted the fact of the transfers themselves, but denied intent to support “extremist” activity. According to her, she did not notice that instead of making a one-time donation, she had signed up for a monthly subscription, and the FBK’s information about the legality of donations misled her.

The activist was detained on July 2 in Moscow. Until the verdict was handed down, she was held in a pretrial detention center.

🔵The day before, a specialist in Arctic geese was given 3.5 years for donating 2,000 rubles to the FBK. The woman was taken into custody right in the courtroom.

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