The Russian doctors have addressed President Vladimir Putin demanding the release of Alexandra Skochilenko, a 33-year-old woman sentenced to seven years in prison for protesting against Russia’s offensive in Ukraine in a supermarket. Skochilenko had replaced price tags in a supermarket with slogans criticizing the Russian offensive.
Skochilenko, also known as an artist under the name Sasha, suffers from several health issues, including celiac disease and a congenital heart defect. Her mother told AFP that a long prison sentence would be a “catastrophe” for her daughter.
In the letter, published on social media and independent Russian news sites, the doctors express serious concerns about Sasha’s health. They note that her chronic illnesses require proper medical monitoring and special diet, which cannot be provided in a penal colony. Her conviction last week was met with strong criticism from human rights groups and anti-Kremlin activists.
Point is probably to cause professional urban Putin supporters to query their own view of him if he does not grant clemency in this case.
Because though dictators rule with an iron fist, they still require some level of backing & tacit approval from their populations. If they had the power to totally ignore public opinion, they’d have no need to try to shape it so brutally.
Certainly he seems to like to pretend to his domestic audience that he’s capable of being reasonable.