Knife-wielding Ukrainian woman freed from jail

A Ukrainian woman who was jailed in March after wielding a knife at a pro-Russia gathering in Larnaca has been freed after successfully appealing her conviction.

The 55-year-old was jailed for six months in March after the Larnaca district court found her guilty of assault. However, following an appeal, her sentence was reduced to four months, meaning that she was freed immediately.

The appeal was based on an “error of principle” in the initial court proceedings, whereby “facts unrelated to the charges to which the appellant pleaded guilty were taken into count in an aggravating manner”.

The incident took place last August on Russia’s flag day. Around 20 Russian citizens had gathered in an open plot opposite the town’s Panayia Faneromeni church with the intention of holding a procession through the town.

The Ukrainian woman, who lost her brother during Russia’s invasion of her country, noticed the gathering from her apartment, and confronted members of the crowd while holding a knife.

Former Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov demanded the woman be tried on terrorism charges, saying “I consider this to be an attempted terrorist attack”.

She pleaded not guilty to all charges in September, with protestors gathering outside court holding placards reading “No to war”.