When Maria Kartasheva appeared at a Canadian citizenship ceremony last June, she thought she was going to cut out her permanent resident card and take the oath. Instead, authorities barred her from participating, saying her criminal charges in Russia for criticizing the war in Ukraine could disqualify her from citizenship.

On Tuesday afternoon, she was finally sworn in in a virtual ceremony from her home in Ottawa and became a Canadian citizen. But that moment came after what she described as a disturbing seven-month saga that included a frantic effort to build public support for her case. If she had been sent back to Russia, as Canada was considering, she would face an eight-year prison sentence.

“I put all this hope in Canada only to be betrayed,” said Ms. Kartasheva, 30. “And who would care about me?” “I was very afraid that no one would want to support me.”

Ms. Kartasheva was arrested in absentia last spring and convicted in November by a Moscow judge for anti-war comments she posted on social media while living in Canada.

Permanent residents with criminal records in other countries may lose their immigration status in Canada if an equivalent offense is identified in Canadian law. But after examination, the authorities decided to grant him citizenship.

Ms Kartasheva started a petition last month and has been overwhelmed by the letters of support she has received from Russian dissidents and human rights groups.

“I find it really infuriating that we have a bureaucracy that is so rigid, at best, or so downright obtuse, that it doesn't realize that, on the contrary, someone in this situation needs protection rather than persecution in Canada,” did he declare. Aurel Braun, professor of international relations and political science at the University of Toronto and author of several books on Russian politics.

Kartasheva and her husband, both tech workers, arrived in Ottawa in 2019 as permanent residents, reluctant to leave a country they loved. But, he says, the political climate in Russia makes even going to work, under the gaze of heavily armed police, a daily anxiety. One of his first culture shocks in Canada was the absence of uniformed officers policing the streets of the capital.

As she adjusted to life in Canada, Ms. Kartasheva freely expressed the political views she primarily held at home, participating in anti-Putin protests outside the Russian Embassy in Ottawa and sharing her views on social networks. He also co-founded the Russian-Canadian Democratic Alliance, a pro-democracy organization.

His activism quickly attracted the attention of Russian authorities. They arrested Ms. Kartasheva in absentia in April 2023, alleging that she had spread “false information” about the Russian military in statements she made from Canada in social media posts about the massacre of Bucha, Ukraine. The charges were brought as part of a series of censorship laws introduced as part of Russia's crackdown on opposition to the war.

[Leer: Cómo el gobierno ruso silencia la disensión en tiempos de guerra]

Ms. Kartasheva's arrest was ordered by Elena Lenskaya, a judge at the Basmanny district court in central Moscow, known for hearing cases of high-profile opponents of President Vladimir Putin, including Vladimir Kara-Murza and Aleksei Navalny.

Judge Lensskaya and the Basmanny District Court have been sanctioned by Canada over the past 14 months for human rights violations.

“Some regimes do not hesitate to persecute their former citizens, even if they have left the country, because these regimes would do anything to stay in power,” Professor Braun said. “They are absolutely ruthless.”

Ms Kartasheva believes the Russian embassy reported her to Russian authorities. The embassy did not respond to a question about this.

“To our knowledge, these types of crimes are prosecuted in other domestic jurisdictions, including Canada,” he said in an emailed statement.

Canada's law against the spread of false news was ruled unconstitutional in 1992, and the Supreme Court noted that other democracies did not have such a provision, said Noa Mendelsohn Aviv, executive director and general counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. Even before its repeal, a federal law commission had recommended its repeal.

“They had said it was anachronistic because it was intended to protect the lords of the kingdom,” he said. “And in a democracy, in a free and democratic society, it is above all public figures who must be able to resist criticism and control. »

In a letter from her immigration officer, Ms. Kartasheva was informed that officials had identified a different Canadian law that they believed to be equivalent to that of Russia, a law that prohibits Canadians from transmitting “information that they know to be false” and “with the intention of harming or alarming anyone.

This Canadian provision is part of the property rights section of the Criminal Code, said Ms. Mendelsohn Aviv, and has been used to prosecute people who made false emergency calls and to harass or alarm others. . Authorities approved Kartasheva's citizenship after considering arguments from her immigration lawyer, Mikhail Golichenko, that Russian law has no equivalent in Canada.

Ms. Kartasheva, relieved to be a Canadian citizen, intends to resume her activism after this ordeal.

“I still believe that Canada could have prevented it,” she said, adding: “At the same time, I am very grateful.”

Vjosa Isai is a journalist and researcher for the New York Times in Toronto.

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