Russia drops criminal case against hospice founder Lida Moniava

Russian investigators have dropped criminal charges against Lida Moniava, the founder of the Lighthouse children's hospice. The decision follows her detention in September on charges of spreading false information regarding the actions of Russian armed forces in Ukraine.

Moniava's lawyer, Mikhail Birjukov, stated that investigators from the Central Investigative Committee informed him that the case was dropped because his client's actions did not constitute a crime. The charges were linked to a 2023 Telegram post in which she cited United Nations statistics regarding civilian casualties in Ukraine and called for aid for Ukrainian refugees.

The case was widely viewed as an attempt to silence civil society, with Amnesty International previously condemning the prosecution. Moniava's Lighthouse charity provides care for over 1,000 critically ill children and young adults in the Moscow region. During the legal proceedings, supporters and patients from the hospice, some using wheelchairs and ventilators, appeared in court to show solidarity.