A Russian defendant, on Monday, pleaded with a court in Tula to accept his appeal against a prison sentence after his daughter drew an anti-war picture at school, which led to a police investigation. He stated that he would prefer death over a punishment that separates him from his daughter. Moskalëv expressed in court, "My heart bleeds every day" because of his separation from his daughter Masha, adding that he would choose the death penalty over this situation.
His lawyer, Vladimir Bilenko, told Reuters that the court rejected the appeal and upheld the two-year prison sentence, along with an additional two-year ban on internet use. Bilenko mentioned, "He was speaking from the heart. He has been living away from his daughter for a very long time, emphasizing that he lives for this child... He was trying to appeal to the humanity of the court, but it did not succeed."
Bilenko further noted that Moskalëv could now be transferred from investigative detention to a penal facility at any time, but he will submit further appeals against the ruling through two higher courts. "We will fight to the end," he added.
The court convicted Moskalëv based on comments he allegedly posted online regarding the Russian war in Ukraine. However, the investigation began after his daughter Masha, then 12 years old, drew a picture last year depicting Russian missiles raining down on a Ukrainian mother and her child, prompting the school administration to contact the police.
The case attracted global attention as Masha was removed from her father and placed in a children's care facility before his trial. She now lives with her mother, who is separated from Moskalëv, but the father and daughter are still able to exchange messages. A family support group stated that some in the courtroom cried when Moskalëv read a message from Masha, in which she described him as the best dad in the world and said, "We will be together no matter what."
In March, Alexei Moskalëv was sentenced to two years in prison for discrediting the Russian army. He escaped house arrest in Yefremov, in the Tula region south of Moscow, and fled to Belarus but was soon arrested and deported back to Russia.
