Russian Consul to visit SOS Donbass founder Novikova in Paris prison

The Russian Embassy in France plans to visit the arrested founder of SOS Donbass, Anna Novikova. This was announced by the diplomatic mission on July 17.

"We are closely monitoring the situation, we are in constant contact with her lawyer on the issue of judicial protection. We plan to organize another consular visit to Anna in the Fleury-Merogy prison in the suburbs of Paris," the message says.

In addition, Russian Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov, at a meeting with UNESCO Director General Khaled al-Anani, discussed the situation with the detention in France of Anna Novikova, founder of the SOS Donbass association.

"Special attention was paid to such an important issue, which is within the framework of UNESCO's mandate. This is to ensure the safety of journalists. In particular, we drew the Director General's attention to the situation of discrimination against Russian journalist Anna Novikova," Falkov said.

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Novikova's lawyer, in an interview with Izvestia on July 15, said that the court in France still has no evidence of the guilt of the founder of SOS Donbass. According to him, Novikova's only fault is that she has her own opinion. In addition, de Vel called the arrested woman a heroine and compared her to Joan of Arc.

The Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, Yana Lantratova, noted that Novikova's alleged "guilt" lies in the fact that she is the founder and vice-president of the humanitarian organization SOS Donbass, which collects aid for civilians in Donbass. She stressed that the French authorities apply double standards: sending weapons to Ukraine used to kill children is considered normal, and humanitarian aid to civilians in Donbass is considered a crime.