Russian director, playwright arrested on accusations of "justifying terrorism"

Moscow [Russia], May 7 : An acclaimed theatre director and a playwright have been arrested in Russia on accusations of "justifying terrorism" for their play about Russian women being recruited online to marry Islamic State fighters in Syria, CNN reported.

According to CNN, Yevgenia Berkovich was arrested on Friday alongside the play's author, Svetlana Petriychuk, after investigators alleged that their award-winning play "Finist, the Brave Falcon" was in violation of the law.

According to prosecutors, the work "romanticizes, justifies and glorifies terrorists" as well as promoting the "ideology of radical feminism", Russian state media TASS reported.

The play was staged in 2021 by Berkovich's own company, with the support of the Union of Theatre Workers of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, according to the independent news website Meduza.

The play won two "Golden Mask" national theatre awards last year. Berkovich also received a nomination for best director.

Theatre critics described the production as "exposing the mechcs of terrorism."

The 38-year-old Berkovich was remanded in custody for two months until July 4, despite her lawyers asking if she could be granted house arrest to take care of her two adopted, disabled daughters.

The charges against her carry a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.

As per CNN, the arrests shocked Russia's shrinking theatre community and prompted the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta to publish an open letter in support of Berkovich and Petriychuk, calling on Russian authorities to "persecute murderers instead of poets."

Authorities in St Petersburg, in a separate development, temporarily closed the Maly Drama Theatre with one of its actors Dla Kozlovsky facing investigation for anti-war posts.

Russia's cultural scene has faced increased repression since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. Prominent figures have been purged from their jobs and some have faced criminal cases, CNN said.