The government-critical director Serebrennikov was found guilty in Moscow, but remains at large. The lawsuit against him for embezzling public funds had been criticized internationally.
In a controversial trial for alleged embezzlement of public funds, Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov has been sentenced to three years in prison. “Serebrennikov’s rehabilitation is possible without a real prison sentence,” said the judge in charge, Olessja Mendelejewa in Moscow. However, the theater and film director was prohibited from running cultural institutions, and he was also fined. The prosecutor had previously applied for six years in prison.
It was not necessary to isolate him from society, said the judge from the Interfax agency. In addition, he and his team should pay back the misappropriated sum of 129 million rubles (1.6 million euros) to the state treasury. With Serebrennikow, his colleagues Sofja Apfelbaum and Alexej Malobrodski and Yuri Itin were also on trial. The investigation against her has been running since summer 2017.
Numerous expressions of solidarity
The lawsuit against the artist, who is also known in Germany, is considered a show trial against the liberal art scene in Russia. In the run-up to the verdict, numerous Russian artists published videos in which they complained about an unjust judicial system. A total of about 400 supporters, including actors, singers and cultural workers, appeared in front of the courthouse in Moscow. The prominent rapper Oxxxymiron (Oksimiron) also called on his two million Instagram followers to come to the courthouse.
When the sentence was announced, cheers broke out among the demonstrators. Some cried with relief that the star didn’t have to go to prison. He was not satisfied with the verdict, said Serebrennikov. His defense lawyer Dmitry Charitonov announced that he would take action. The judge’s decision was not yet final. Serebrennikow said with applause from his fans: “Thank you for your support. Thank you for believing in our innocence. You have to fight for the truth.”
In connection with the trial, prominent cultural expert Irina Prokhorova said on the Echo Moskwy radio station that Russia is currently experiencing the “rebirth of a Stalinist machine of repression”. The philosopher Leonid Gosman spoke of a “real hatred” of the power apparatus against Serebrennikov. “This is a regime that is against everything alive, against everything talented,” he said in a video link on the radio station’s internet platform.
Protest in Berlin
In Germany, too, many people showed solidarity on the Internet under the keyword #freekirill. A protest took place in Berlin, which the actor Lars Eidinger had also called for. According to the dramaturge Birgit Lenners, around 120 supporters of Serebrennikov gathered in front of the Russian embassy and demanded his release. As Lengers described, attempts were unsuccessful to give the ambassador a list of supporters with 56,000 signatures.
The star director also practices social criticism in his films and theatrical performances. Serebrennikov, in his closing speech before the court on Monday, affirmed his innocence and emphasized that no evidence had been presented in the trial.
Last year Serebrennikow was released after more than a year and a half in house arrest with restrictions. Chancellor Angela Merkel and international stars also campaigned for him.
