Moscow court passed 4 year suspended sentence for Ukrainian library's ex-head

Moscow's Meshchansky district court has passed a four-year suspended sentence for former head of Moscow's Ukrainian Literature Library Natalia Sharina, UNIAN reports.

The sentence was announced by judge Yelena Gudoshnikova, who said that Sharina's guilt had been "proven completely". Russian prosecutors sought a five-year suspended sentence.

Sharina was apprehended in October 2015 on accusations of inciting extremism and ethnic hatred because the collection of the Moscow-based Ukrainian library where she worked allegedly included Ukrainian ultranationalist books outlawed in Russia. The investigators had planted the books as fake evidence as they did not carry the library's stamps. Sharina was placed under house arrest, which was repeatedly extended by the court.

The convict's age and state of health, as well as the absence of complaints from the place of residence were recognized by the court as circumstances that mitigated her guilt.

The judge also canceled the house arrest and took into account the period when Sharina was remanded in custody for almost two years.

Sharina has no right to change her place of residence without notifying law enforcement.