:strip_exif(true):strip_icc(true):no_upscale(true):quality(65)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gmg/QGRE2YGTVFA3ZAF35KLADW7QT4.jpg)
Acclaimed Russian director convicted but not sent to prison
Russian film and theater director Kirill Serebrennikov wearing a protective face mask sits prior to his court hearing at the Meshchansky court in Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 26, 2020. A court in Moscow is expected to deliver a verdict on Friday to the acclaimed theater director accused of embezzling state funds, in a case widely seen as politically motivated. (AP Photo)MOSCOW A Moscow judge convicted an acclaimed Russian theater director of embezzling state funds and imposed a three-year suspended sentence Friday in a case widely seen as politically motivated. Serebrennikov had rejected the accusations as absurd; many in Russia saw the charges as punishment for his anti-establishment views. The director spent almost two years under house arrest between August 2017 and April 2019.