Blogger Tetiana Montian, a supporter of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, received an 18-month penal colony sentence from a Russian-appointed court in occupied Donetsk on Oct. 19 for public calls to extremism.
The Voroshilovsky Interdistrict Court also barred Montian from administering internet resources for two years. The case concerned a Telegram post from 2022 that the court said called for violent or discriminatory action against a group of people.
Montian disputed that interpretation. She said she meant banning bots from the comments on a video stream, Mediazona reported. She has backed Russia’s war in Ukraine while criticizing Russian officials and pro-government commentators.
At a United Nations Security Council meeting on Feb. 17, 2022, Montian accused Western governments of seeking a war on Ukrainian territory. In 2023, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it had notified her of suspicion under four articles of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, including provisions concerning collaboration and justification of Russia’s armed aggression. Those Ukrainian allegations are separate from her conviction in Donetsk.
Defense lawyer Alexei Kalugin said Montian remains free under a travel restriction until the verdict takes legal effect. He said the defense will appeal.
