Political prisoner Alexey Moskalev was released from the penal colony in Novomoskovsk on October 15, where he was greeted by his supporters and his daughter, Masha. The RusNews media outlet reported from Tula Oblast.
Alexey Moskalev thanked all the "volunteers and like-minded people." He noted that many of his fellow inmates had been summoned for interrogation "because of him," as authorities wanted to know if Moskalev had said anything that could lead to new criminal charges against him.
"I ask that you don’t abandon those facing politically motivated charges who are in the same situation as I was. They need your support too. Don’t leave them behind, always stand by them," Moskalev urged.
In March 2023, a court sentenced Alexey Moskalev to 2 years in a penal colony for repeatedly discrediting the army (Article 280.3 of the Russian Criminal Code). He escaped house arrest before the verdict was announced, but law enforcement tracked him down and arrested him in Minsk. The appeals court later reduced his sentence to 1 year and 10 months.
The family's persecution by the authorities began after Masha Moskaleva drew an anti-war picture at her school in April 2022. In March 2023, after her father’s arrest, she was placed in an orphanage, but her mother took her home a month later.