Russian court overturns acquittal of LGBT rights activist and artist Yulia Tsvetkova
A Vladivostok court has overturned the acquittal of Yulia Tsvetkova, an LGBT rights activist and artist who was charged with “distributing pornography” for sharing art that depicted vulvas, a popular Russian Telegram channel reported on Tuesday, citing Tsvetkova’s lawyer.
The case will reportedly be reconsidered by a court in Komsomolsk-on-Amur.
Tsvetkova was first charged in 2019 after posting drawings of vulvas on a social media page called The Vagina Monologues. She pleaded guilty to the charges and said she had published the drawings in an effort to break taboos around women’s bodies. Prosecutors requested a three-year prison sentence, but in the summer of 2022, Tsvetkova was acquitted. In November 2022, another court upheld the acquittal, and Tsvetkova left Russia the following day.
