Russia fines man who dyed hair in Ukraine flag colours

A Moscow resident who dyed his hair in the colours of the Ukrainian flag has been found guilty of "discrediting the army" and fined, court documents showed.

Stanislav Netesov visited a police station in April to report a crime after he was attacked at a bus stop, but after seeing his hair the officers decided to charge him.

The court accused Netesov of "expressing a negative attitude towards the Russian armed forces" with his hairstyle, which was coloured with green, blue and yellow stripes.

Netesov said the hairstyle had nothing to do with Ukraine and that "he had been dying his hair in bright colours since 2017," Tverskoy District Court wrote.

The court convicted him of "public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Russian army" and fined him an undisclosed sum, which media reports said was 50,000 rubles ($550).

Netesov told the OVD-Info rights group that his hair colour had been an "accident" and that he indicated to police officers he supported neither Russia nor the "Ukrainian regime".

Moscow made illegal public criticism of its offensive in Ukraine shortly after the conflict began in February 2022, and thousands since then have been detained for simple acts of protest.

In November 2023, a man was jailed for 10 days for allegedly tracing the words "No to war" on a snow-covered turnstile outside a skating rink in Moscow.

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