Prosecutors in the ‘Sanitary Case’ seek two years restricted freedom for Lyubov Sobol

The prosecution in the so-called “Sanitary Case” is seeking a two-year parole-like sentence for opposition politician Lyubov Sobol. 

Following a hearing on Wednesday, July 28, Sobol’s lawyer Vladimir Voronin said that prosecutors are seeking two years of “restrictions on freedom” for his client, which would include prohibiting her from attending public gatherings, leaving her home between the hours of 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m., or going outside the boundaries of the Moscow district where she lives. 

Sobol wrote on Twitter that the verdict will be handed down on August 2.

State investigators launched the “Sanitary Case” in January 2021, pressing criminal charges against ten well-known activists and politicians associated with Alexey Navalny for allegedly violating pandemic regulations. According to the investigation, the defendants in the case called for people to attend a pro-Navalny demonstration, thereby provoking violations of sanitary and epidemiological rules.

In June, the Russian Investigative Committee dropped the “Sanitary Case” charges against municipal deputy Konstantin Yankauskas; this came shortly after the politician announced that he wouldn’t be running in the upcoming State Duma elections.

In April, a Moscow court found Lyubov Sobol guilty of trespassing at the home of Konstantin Kudryavtsev — one of the FSB agents implicated in Navalny’s August 2020 poisoning. The court handed her a one-year provisional sentence of community service, in addition to garnishing 10 percent of her wages.