Russian court acquits feminist in vagina drawings case

A Russian court Friday acquitted a feminist and LGBTQ activist of "spreading pornography" online, in a rare decision for the conservative country's courts.

Yuliya Tsvetkova, 29, had since mid-April been on trial in the far eastern city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur near China over her illustrations of vulvas and naked women on social media, her supporters say.

She runs a page called "Vagina Monologues" on the popular social media network Vkontakte that has angered some officials.

The case has been dragging on since 2019 and led to flash mobs in her support.

"The central district court of Komsomolsk-on-Amur has acquitted Yuliya Tsvetkova," a support group said on Telegram.

Tsvetkova's mother, Anna Khodyreva, confirmed the acquittal.

Supporters however warned that prosecutors have 10 days to appeal the ruling.

They posted a photograph of the activist with a shaved head and dressed all in black.

Amnesty International said the acquittal marked a "rare and welcome triumph of sanity" in a case over "creating body-positive illustrations of female sexual organs".

"In a country where state-sponsored homophobia and misogyny are the norm, Tsvetkova's trial was a landmark case," the London-based rights group said.

Over his two decades in power, President Vladimir Putin has sought to play up Russia's traditional values, and some now consider "feminism" to be a dirty word.

The trial was held behind closed doors -- officially because pornographic images were shown at the hearings.

Tsvetkova, who as part of her activism also hosted lectures for the LGBTQ community and held classes on sex education, was previously fined for violating a controversial Russian law against so-called "gay propaganda".