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Russian Artist Convicted Over Leaflets Dies After Heart Attack While Serving Sentence

The 65-year-old had been serving a colony‑settlement term for alleged calls to terrorism over pro‑Ukrainian leaflets, a case rights monitors labeled political.

Overview

  • He died on February 19 in a St. Petersburg hospital after a major heart attack, according to his support group.
  • Supporters said he suffered the heart attack on February 12 in custody and was later placed in a medically induced coma.
  • A court in July 2024 sentenced Alexander Dotsenko to three years in a colony‑settlement and his wife, Anastasia Dyudyaeva, to three and a half years.
  • Both denied involvement in the pro‑Ukrainian leaflets found in a Lenta supermarket, one of which carried the phrase “Путіняку на гіляку.”
  • His lawyer said prison authorities did not promptly inform relatives or the defense about his condition, and Memorial recognized the couple as political prisoners.