In Russia, the 2nd Western District Military Court sentenced activist Nadine Geisler (also known as Nadiya Rosynska) to 22 years in prison. After the start of the full-scale invasion, she founded the “Army of Beauties” volunteer initiative, which provided assistance to Ukrainian refugees. About this informs Reuters.
She was arrested in Belgorod in February 2024. At first, she was accused of “public calls for activities directed against the security of the state”, and later accused of “facilitating terrorist activities” and treason. Investigators said that she allegedly collected funds for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The prosecution demanded 27 years in prison for her.
According to the indictment, on August 31, 2023, she allegedly published a post on Instagram with a call to transfer funds to the Ukrainian battalion “Azov” (which is recognized as a terrorist organization in the Russian Federation). Geisler denies that the account belonged to her. At the time of her arrest, the page had already been deleted. In court, she and her lawyers said they did not know who owned the profile or who used it.
Lawyer Oleksiy Pryanishnikov noted that the investigation could not establish the IP address or the place from where the publication was made. Also, according to him, no evidence of the transfer of funds to “Azov” was provided.
Before the full-scale war, Nadine Geisler worked as a photographer. After February 24, 2022, she started volunteering — she organized the “Army of Beauties” movement, which helped evacuate people and animals from Ukraine, delivered food and medicine to the victims.
