Moscow scientist Rosenfeld sentenced to 3.5 years in penal colony — Jerusalem Post
In Moscow, a court of the Russian Federation — an aggressor state — sentenced Russian-Israeli scientist Sofia Rosenfeld to three and a half years in a penal colony. She was found guilty of financing an organization that Russian authorities consider extremist, the Jerusalem Post reports.
According to the indictment, the case was based on two transfers of 1,000 rubles each to the Anti-Corruption Foundation, associated with opposition politician Alexei Navalny. Russian authorities added the foundation to the list of extremist organizations in 2021. Navalny died in a Russian prison in February 2024.
The scientist's position
As the publication writes, citing a court report by the independent Russian-language media outlet Mediazona, Rosenfeld said that she did not intend to support extremism but sought to help the fight against corruption. She also claimed that when the payments were made from her account, she was on a scientific expedition in the northern Arctic and had no contact with the outside world.
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The scientist said she cancelled the recurring payment as soon as she learned about the foundation's ban. According to Mediazona, she became the third known woman sentenced to imprisonment over small donations to this organization.
Appeal against the verdict
After the hearing, Rosenfeld was immediately taken into custody. She is currently being held in Moscow pending a decision on her transfer to a penal colony. The scientist's lawyers intend to appeal the verdict, but the appeal is not expected to be heard for at least several weeks.
Sofia Rosenfeld is 50 years old. She holds a degree in biology and works as a senior researcher at the Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Her research focuses on Arctic waterfowl. Rosenfeld retained Israeli citizenship and, after being charged, sought assistance from the Israeli Embassy in Moscow.
