Russia drops criminal case against children’s hospice charity founder Lida Moniava

Russian authorities have dismissed criminal charges against Lida Moniava, the founder of the Dom s Mayakom (House with a Lighthouse) charity that supports seriously ill children. The criminal case was dropped after investigators found no elements of a crime in her actions, as her lawyer Mikhail Biryukov confirmed to the Interfax news agency.

Moniava faced accusations of spreading "false information" about the Russian armed forces, a charge that could have resulted in a five to 10 year prison sentence. The case against her was initiated under Russia's wartime censorship law, which criminalizes the "public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Russian armed forces."

This provision was introduced following the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Moniava was detained on September 2 following a search of her home, where investigators claimed she had posted false information about Russian military actions against Ukrainian civilians in her public Telegram channel. In February, she had already been fined 45,000 rubles ($530) for allegedly "discrediting" the Russian military in three Telegram posts.

In 2020, the "Dom s Mayakom" hospice faced allegations of violating rules regarding the handling of narcotic drugs under Russia's Administrative Code, resulting in a 200,000 ruble ($2,800) fine. However, the Moscow City Court later overturned this penalty, deeming the violation minor. Moniava has been actively involved in the nonprofit sector since 2008, co-founding the hospice with palliative care advocate Nyuta Federmesser in 2018 and becoming its head in 2018.