A Moscow court on Friday found acclaimed Russian film and theatre director Kirill Serebrennikov guilty of embezzlement, state media reported, as long-running trial that has rattled the country’s cultural community came to a close.
Serebrennikov, 50, who had been initially taken into custody three years ago, was found guilty of participating in an embezzlement of the equivalent of about two million dollars of state funding for the arts.
He had rejected the charges and pleaded innocent.
Several hundred people had gathered at the courthouse for the verdict. When Serebrennikov entered, he was applauded by a crowd of supporters. Some wore T-shirts with the slogan “Free Kirill.”
He insisted on his innocence in his closing remarks. The prosecution has requested the director be given six years in prison. However, the sentencing was expected later on Friday.
Also, two of Serebrennikov’s associates, Yury Itin and Alexei Malobrodsky, were also found guilty of having participated in the embezzlement.
Judge Mendeleyeva said Serebrennikov was the overall leader in the criminal act, while announcing the verdict.
However, some observers had linked the case to the director’s criticism of the Russian Orthodox Church, which has close ties with the upper echelons of Russia’s Government. Russia’s Culture Ministry supported the prosecution.
In 2019, while Serebrennikov was under house arrest, he won one of Russia’s most prestigious film prizes, the Nika Award, for his film “Leto,” about famed Soviet rock star Viktor Tsoi. He was given the award in absentia.
Serebrennikov was released from house arrest a week after winning the award. He had served a year and a half under house arrest.