Oct 6 (Reuters) – Russian investigators have dropped a criminal case against children’s hospice founder Lida Moniava after finding her actions did not constitute a crime, her lawyer and a group of supporters said on Tuesday, a rare apparent reversal by authorities enforcing stringent wartime censorship laws.
Moniava was briefly detained in September and charged with deliberately spreading false information about the actions of Russian armed forces against Ukrainian civilians.
She denied the charge and was placed under pre-trial restrictions. Her Lighthouse charity continued its work supporting critically ill children and young people in Moscow region.
In a post on Telegram, a group set up to support her during the case announced what it called a miracle. “We have incredible news — the criminal case against Lida Moniava has been dropped.”
It thanked those who had spoken up for Moniava. “Special thanks to the heroic patients from Lighthouse who came to support Lida at the court in wheelchairs and with ventilators,” it added.
Her lawyer said investigators had informed him that they had dropped the case, Russian news agencies reported.
Moniava has publicly criticised the 4-1/2-year war in Ukraine on Telegram, calling it a crime that must end.
More than 1,380 people have faced criminal prosecution for expressing anti-war views since the full-scale war began, with around 350 currently in prison or pre-trial detention, according to Russian rights group OVD-Info.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Alison Williams)
