Russian theater director and playwright go on trial over a play authorities say justifies terrorism

By DASHA LITVINOVA
Associated Press

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — A Russian court has started the trial of a theater director and a playwright facing charges of justifying terrorism over a play they staged, the latest step in the unrelenting crackdown on dissent in Russia that has reached unprecedented levels during Moscow’s war in Ukraine. Zhenya Berkovich, a prominent independent theater director, and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk have been jailed for over a year. Authorities claim a play they staged justifies terrorism, which is a criminal offense in Russia. In the play, women arrested after attempting to go to Syria to marry members of Islamic militant groups tell a judge what made them vulnerable to being wooed by extremists online. The women told the court Monday their intent was to prevent terrorism.