Theater director Zhenya Berkovich, right, and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk are seen in a glass cage prior to a hearing in a court in Moscow, Russia, Monday, July 8, 2024. A Russian court has convicted a theater director and a playwright of terrorism charges and sentenced them to six years prison. Zhenya Berkovich, a prominent independent theater director, and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk have already been jailed for over a year while awaiting trial. They have repeatedly rejected the accusations against them, the latest step in an unrelenting crackdown on dissent in Russia that has reached new heights since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Theater director Zhenya Berkovich, right, and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk are seen in a glass cage prior to a hearing in a court in Moscow, Russia, Monday, July 8, 2024. Berkovich, a prominent independent theater director, and Petriychuk, a playwright have been behind bars since early May. Authorities claim a play they staged, "Finist, the Brave Falcon," justifies terrorism, which is a criminal offence in Russia punishable by up to seven years in prison. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Theater director Zhenya Berkovich, right, and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk are seen in a glass cage prior to a hearing in a court in Moscow, Russia, Monday, July 8, 2024. A Russian court has convicted a theater director and a playwright of terrorism charges and sentenced them to six years prison. Berkovich, a prominent independent theater director, and playwright Petriychuk have already been jailed for over a year while awaiting trial. They have repeatedly rejected the accusations against them, the latest step in an unrelenting crackdown on dissent in Russia that has reached new heights since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Theater director Zhenya Berkovich, right, and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk are seen in a glass cage prior to a hearing in a court in Moscow, Russia, Monday, July 8, 2024. A Russian court has convicted a theater director and a playwright of terrorism charges and sentenced them to six years prison. Zhenya Berkovich, a prominent independent theater director, and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk have already been jailed for over a year while awaiting trial. They have repeatedly rejected the accusations against them, the latest step in an unrelenting crackdown on dissent in Russia that has reached new heights since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)