The lawyer of the founder of SOS Donbass stated that there was no evidence of her guilt.

The French court still has no evidence of the guilt of SOS Donbass founder Anna Novikova. This was announced by her lawyer Philippe de Vel in an interview with Izvestia on July 15.

"Her intentions were in no way aimed at harming France. On the contrary, she wanted to initiate a dialogue, and her intention was also to help the Russian—speaking population of Donbass through donations through her SOS Donbass association," the lawyer said.

According to him, Novikova's only fault is that she has her own opinion. In addition, de Vel called the founder of SOS Donbass a heroine and compared her to Joan of Arc.

The human rights defender also expressed the hope that the proceedings would not drag on for many years, as was the case with the French General Staff officer Alfred Dreyfus in the 19th century.

"It took 13 years for Captain Dreyfus to be acquitted. I hope that everything will happen to Anna much faster, because there is no evidence in the case against her," the lawyer said.

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On the same day, De Vel announced that the French court had rejected another request for Novikova's release under judicial control. He added that the interrogation of the founder of SOS Donbass, which lasted more than two hours, did not give the French court any new evidence that would indicate her guilt.

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.

On June 24, De Vel said that a court in Paris had refused to release Novikova under judicial supervision. According to him, the defense was provided only with a court decision without a reasoning part.