Russian woman faces fine for carrying tote which says, ‘Sex is cool, but Putin’s death better’

A Russian woman said that government officials interrogated and fined her for sharing a photo of her tote bag, the wording on whichread that the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin is “better” than sex.

Aleksandra, who refused to reveal her surname, was asked to pay 30,000 rubles ($317) for “discrediting” the military of Russia under an article of the Code of Administrative Offenses, as per an interview given by her to an independent local news outlet Mediazone.

She stated that the charges stemmed in part from multiple screenshots of the bagshe shared on her personal Instagram. In the photo, a cotton bag is seen emblazoned with blue text which read, “Sex is cool, but Putin’s death better”, reported The New York Post.

ALSO READ |Russia reaffirms stance on grain deal, continues strikes on key Ukrainian ports

The images also included another bag inscribed with the words “No to war” and graffiti which protested Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

⚡️In Krasnodar, a girl was fined 30 thousand rubles for a bag with the inscription "Sex is cool, but Putin's death is better" 👀 pic.twitter.com/CoFb644r5o — Ukraine News 🇺🇦 (@Ukrainene) August 3, 2023

The woman said that plainclothes officers came to her home in Krasnodar on June 28 and she was taken to the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where she was quizzed about LGBTQ+ “propaganda” on her tattoos.

Harrowing interrogation

She stated that the officers forced her to show her tattoos, which included one of a dog wearing a rainbow scarf on her upper arm and alongside were words that translated to - “The dog is gay.”

“They told me to raise the sleeves of my T-shirt, examined all my tattoos, asked me to translate what the inscriptions in English mean, and also took photos of my face and tattoos,” she stated, talking about the harrowing interrogation.

The woman was stopped by the officers from contacting a lawyer and was asked by them how her mother, a teacher, “had such an ill-mannered daughter,” as per the human rights group Sphere.

In late July, she was slapped with a fine of over $2,000 by the Magistrate’s Court for “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations” in addition to the charge for “discrediting,” said Mediazone.

WATCH |Russia-Ukraine War: Putin claims that Russia has not rejected talks with Ukraine

Even in court, the police faced trouble in explaining exactly why the tattoos of Aleksandra were offensive. “He said some incoherent things: ‘Propaganda, propaganda,’” Aleksandra lamented.

“Explain where the violation is here. He’s like, ‘Well, I thought it was a violation. I am sad that now, even on my small page in social networks, it has become objectionable and unsafe to express my opinion,” she said while speaking to SOTA.

“I cannot know exactly how they found me and why they were interested, but I think that someone wrote a denunciation, seeing that the page was open,” she added.

You cannow write forwionews.comand be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with ushere.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE