In Russia, a factory cleaning lady was sent to a pretrial detention center because of her pro-Ukrainian views

In Voronezh, Russia, a court remanded 50-year-old Olga Usoltseva—who worked as a cleaner at the “Borhimmash” factory—into pretrial detention. The woman is suspected of justifying terrorism online, but the specific posts that led to the case against her have not been disclosed. Among the arguments in favor of her arrest, an FSB investigator cited her “pro-Ukrainian views” and her relatives in Ukraine.

 

In September, the Central District Court of Voronezh remanded 50-year-old Olga Usoltseva to pretrial detention in a case involving the justification of terrorism online. This is stated in a ruling posted on the regional court’s website. The Russian publication “Mediazona” drew attention to the document. It is currently unknown exactly what the woman is accused of. The publicly available case materials do not specify which specific posts or comments served as the basis for the criminal prosecution.

According to “Mediazona,” an investigator from Russia’s Federal Security Service asked the court to remand Usoltseva into custody due to her “pro-Ukrainian views” and the fact that she has relatives in Ukraine. Investigators suspected that she might travel to join them and go into hiding from Russian law enforcement.

What is known about Olga Usoltseva

Olga Usoltseva was born in Mykolaiv, Ukraine. Prior to the criminal prosecution, she worked as a cleaner at the “Borhimmash” factory in the Russian city of Borisoglebsk. The criminal case against her was opened on September 10. At the time of her arrest, her husband and minor child remained at home in Russia. In late September, Usoltseva was added to the registry of Rosfinmonitoring—the Russian financial monitoring service. Being placed on this list can lead to restrictions on financial transactions.

At the same time, the details of the case remain unknown. Currently, there is no publicly available information about the specific statements that formed the basis for the charges or about the evidence on which the investigation relies. Thus, the woman is being held in custody on charges of justifying terrorism online, and the investigation cites her family ties to Ukraine as one of the reasons for the risk that she might flee. At the same time, the substance of the charges has not been publicly disclosed.