Ex-Director Of Moscow-Based Ukrainian Library Handed Suspended Sentence
The former director of Moscow's Ukrainian Literature Library, Natalya Sharina, has been handed a four-year suspended sentence by a Moscow court in a case that is steeped in the confrontation between Moscow and Kyiv and which has been denounced by rights activists.
Meshchansky District Court found Sharina guilty of inciting ethnic hatred and embezzlement on June 5 and sentenced her the same day.
The hate-crime charge stems from the Russian state's claim that her library's collection included books that are banned in Russia as extremist, including works by Ukrainian ultranationalist Dmytro Korchynskiy.
Sharina was detained in October 2015 amid growing animus between Moscow and Kyiv over Russia's seizure of Crimea and support for armed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
In April 2016, investigators additionally charged her with embezzlement, claiming that she used library funds to pay for her legal defense in a separate extremism case against her that was dismissed in 2013.
Her lawyer said the authorities had "trumped up" new charges after realizing their initial case against his client was too weak.
Sharina, 59, who is under house arrest, has rejected all the allegations as politically motivated. The respected Russian human rights group Memorial considers her a political prisoner.
On May 29, the state prosecutor had asked the judge to find Sharina guilty and give her a five-year suspended sentence.
Based on reporting by Rapsinews, TASS, and Interfax
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