Woman, 68, from occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast "sentenced" to 11 years in prison for donation to Ukraine’s Armed Forces

The Russians have sentenced a 68-year-old pensioner in the temporarily occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia Oblast for allegedly transferring money in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Source: Office of Ombudsman of Ukraine

Details: The woman was given an 11-year prison sentence, the Office of Ombudsman of Ukraine reported.

As Ukrainian media outlet Zmina notes, citing occupation authorities, the convicted woman is Halyna Bekhter, a resident of the occupied village of Plodoridne in the Melitopol district.

According to the Russian "investigation", in July 2023, Halyna allegedly used a mobile application of a Ukrainian bank on her phone to transfer money in support of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Russia's Federal Security Service interprets such actions as "providing financial assistance to a foreign state in activities directed against the security of the Russian Federation" – Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's human rights commissioner, has already sent an appeal to the International Committee of the Red Cross and has also started work on including Halyna in the list of civilians illegally detained by Russia.

In addition, Lubinets sent a letter to the human rights commissioner in the Russian Federation demanding confirmation of Halyna Bekhter's place of detention and stressed the necessity of observing her rights.

Lubinets says this story is further evidence of systematic persecution of Ukrainian civilians in temporarily occupied territories.

"When an elderly woman is made the target of the repressive machine, it is obvious that this is not about 'justice' but about terror against the civilian population.

The so-called 'courts' created by Russian occupation authorities have no legitimacy whatsoever and cannot pass lawful sentences on citizens of Ukraine," the Office of the Ombudsman noted.

The commissioner stressed that this "sentence" is not an isolated case. Russia is systematically persecuting Ukrainians in occupied territories, illegally abducting civilians and subjecting them to torture.

"I draw the attention of our international partners to this gross violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Ukrainians detained illegally must be brought home! Every single one of them! And we are fighting for the return of each and every one," the ombudsman concluded.

Background: Earlier, the Russians jailed a 69-year-old woman from Tokmak for donations to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. She was given 15 years behind bars.

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