St. Petersburg couple arrested for allegedly disseminating napkins calling for Putin’s execution

A court in Russia’s Leningrad region has ordered the arrest of local artist Anastasia Dyudyaeva and her husband, Alexander Dotsenko, on terrorism charges, according to Novaya Gazeta Europe. The couple have been sent to a pre-trial detention center until February 29.

Dyudyaeva and Dotsenko were arrested on January 24, the human rights project OVD-Info reported. After searching their apartment, the authorities reportedly took them to the local branch of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) for an interrogation.

Investigators say the couple disseminated napkins with Ukrainian-language anti-war messages and calls for the execution of Vladimir Putin on the shelves of a local supermarket. One of the napkins allegedly contained the words “Putin to the gallows.”

According to Novaya Gazeta Europe, Anastasia Dyudyaeva is 46 years old and has two children from a previous marriage. Her husband, 63-year-old Alexander Dotsenko, is originally from Ukraine and works as a children’s track and field coach.