Candidate of biological sciences and Arctic geese specialist sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for transferring 2,000 rubles to FBK

A candidate of biological sciences and specialist in Arctic geese was sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for transferring two thousand rubles to FBK

Moscow’s Gagarinsky District Court sentenced Sofya Rozenfeld, a candidate of biological sciences and senior researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Ecology and Evolution, to three years and six months in a penal colony, reports Mediazona.

The scientist was found guilty of financing an “extremist” organization over two transfers to the Anti-Corruption Foundation made in August and September 2021.

Rozenfeld said that at the time she was on a long scientific expedition without communications and canceled her subscription to FBK donations as soon as she learned that the foundation had been declared extremist. In court, she stated that she does not share extremist views and decided to support FBK for the sake of fighting corruption. The judge interrupted the scientist and said that law enforcement agencies exist for that purpose.

“I believe that any public help here is needed. Because even in my own work, connected with scientific research and environmental protection, I have seen what monstrous forms this evil can take. And it seemed to me that any help in the fight against corruption would be a good thing,” Rozenfeld said.

Sofya Rozenfeld is one of the leading specialists in Arctic waterfowl, Mediazona writes. In an interview, she said that since early childhood she had wanted to study animals and birds, and at the age of five decided she would become a zoologist and study at the biology faculty of Moscow State University, where she enrolled in 1993.

@meduzalive