Overview

• Russian theater director Yevgenia Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk have have been detained and interrogated as suspects in a case alleging their award-winning play justifies terrorism.
• Berkovich has been remanded in custody for two months while Petriychuk was also detained and interrogated.
• The play, “Finist, the Brave Falcon,” won two national theater awards last year but authorities argue it broke the law against justifying terrorism.
• The theater's director was also questioned as part of the crackdown by authorities, which is drawing condemnation from prominent Russian artists and journalists who argue the play has an anti-terrorism message.
• Justifying terrorism is a criminal offense in Russia punishable by up to seven years in prison.