Putin pardoned two women convicted for sending text messages about Russian tanks moving to Georgia
Russian President Vladimir Putin pardoned Annik Kesyan and Marina Dzhandzhgava, the two women convicted of high treason as a result of text messages they sent, as reported by Meduza news web site.
Annik Kesyan was accused of sending two text messages in 2008 to a friend in Georgia saying that she saw that the military equipment was being transported by rail.
Then, the recipient of the message asked the woman if the tanks were being transported. In response, the woman wrote, "Yes, they are moving." In 2014 Kesyan was arrested, and a year and a half later sentenced to eight years in a general corrective labor colony.
Marina Dzhandzhgava was sentenced in 2013 to 12 years in prison. Before the trial, the woman worked as a conductor at the railway. The allegations concerned text messages about the movements of a train containing the Russian troops. The woman was accused of transferring information to Georgian intelligence.
In March of this year, another woman, Oksana Sevastidi, was pardoned. She was also convicted for sending text messages in 2008 about Russian military equipment being transported to Georgia.