CNN —An acclaimed theater director and playwright have been arrested in Russia and accused of “justifying terrorism” for their play about Russian women being recruited online to marry Islamic State fighters in Syria. Yevgenia Berkovich was arrested on Friday alongside the play’s author, Svetlana Petriychuk, after investigators alleged that their award-winning play “Finist, the Brave Falcon” was in violation of the law. Prosecutors argue the work “romanticizes, justifies and glorifies terrorists” as well as promoting the “ideology of radical feminism”, Russian state media TASS reported. It was staged in 2021 by Berkovich’s own company, with the support of the Union of Theater Workers of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, according to independent news website Meduza. Russia’s cultural scene has faced increased repression since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.

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