Court Upholds 10.5-Year Sentence for Kherson Activist Iryna Gorobtsova

A political prisoner from Kherson had her sentence upheld. She was accused of espionage and sentenced to more than 10 years in prison. She is currently being transferred to Crimea, where she was imprisoned.

This was reported by Suspilne.Krym.

On April 1, the Court of Appeal in Moscow held a hearing in the case of Irina Gorobtsova, who was illegally sentenced to 10.5 years in prison by the Russian occupiers on trumped-up espionage charges. The court upheld the verdict.

According to the activist's father, Volodymyr Gorobtsov, on March 31, an appeal filed by Irina herself was considered, but the court rejected it. She will remain in Moscow until April 10, after which she will be transferred to the Simferopol pre-trial detention center.

They will decide where she will be sent next, which may take a month or more. Iryna was present at the hearing, but the Moscow Court of Appeal ruled that the verdict is not subject to appeal," Gorobtsov said.

He noted that he will now write a request for an exchange. As for the condition of Irina Gorobtsova, she is very exhausted, she has lost about 20 kilograms, but she is holding on, she is optimistic.

He also noted that on May 13, Irina will celebrate her 40th birthday, and she has been in prison for three years.

Earlier, in a letter to her father, the political prisoner said that before the hearing she was held in Krasnodar, from where she was transferred to Rostov and then to Moscow.

Kherson activist Iryna Gorobtsova, who was abducted by Russia and sentenced to 10 years for alleged "espionage," was taken out of the pre-trial detention center in occupied Simferopol in early March.

Iryna Gorobtsova is a human rights defender and civic activist from Kherson. After the beginning of the Russian occupation of the city in March 2022, she helped medics as a volunteer driver and supported local residents who suffered from violence by the occupiers.

On May 13, 2022, her family reported that two cars with a z sign, a symbol of the Russian invasion, drove up to her house. Armed soldiers broke into the apartment and forcibly took Iryna away.

Over the 11 years of occupation, at least 28 women have been subjected to criminal prosecution. Some of them, including Irina Gorobtsova, Valeria Goldenberg, Irina Danilovich, Galina Dovgopola, Nina Malakhova, Oksana Senezhuk, and Anna Sukhonosova, remain in captivity. Others are under investigation, on "probation" or, even after their release, were forced to leave their home peninsula.

Анна Бальчінос