Because of a donation of NIS 80: 3.5 years in prison for an Israeli woman in Russia

Sophia Rosenfeld, who holds Israeli and Russian citizenship, was sentenced last week in Moscow to a three and a half year prison sentence after donating a small amount to the foundation of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny – when the organization was still legal. Her father Boris tells about the moment when her house was raided, about the severe disappointment of the sentence and the family’s worry: “We are under crazy pressure, there are not even visits.”

In a conversation with N12 today (Monday), Boris said that the last hope left for the family depends on the appeal: “We are very worried. She thought it would end in a fine or community service – we did not expect a prison sentence of several years because of a donation of less than NIS 80.”

Boris described the sequence of events that led to her arrest: “My daughter lives in Moscow but has a very deep connection to Israel. She visited Israel every year, represented Israel in international competitions at a young age and her entire family is here.”

The story began about four years ago, when a standing order defined by Sofia in favor of Navalny’s organization suddenly became a criminal offense. “When she gave the donation it was completely legal,” explains Boris. “During the summer, she was in the Siberian region for work, and while she was there the organization was outlawed. When she returned to Moscow in early September and was told about it, she immediately canceled the standing order. But two payments of about NIS 40 each had already been donated.”

For four years there was silence and Sofia continued her routine. However, at the end of last November, just two days after she returned from a family visit to Israel, the Russian security forces raided her home and filed an indictment against her for “funding an extremist organization”.

The sentence was received last week: “Precisely on October 7, on this difficult date, she also received the sentence,” says Boris. “Right now there aren’t even family visits because there hasn’t been an appeal yet. I called the Foreign Ministry and they promised a humanitarian visit, but it hasn’t happened yet. I really hope the appeal will bring something, we have hope – but it’s very weak.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in contact with the family members and is working with the authorities in Russia to provide consular service.”