Moscow: Uncertainty surrounded the whereabouts of a young Russian artist who depicted a pro-peace message, a day after her father escaped from house arrest in order to avoid going to jail for criticising Moscow's attack on Ukraine.

Alexei Moskalyov, a single father, escaped from house arrest just before a court in Yefremov, a town south of Moscow, sentenced him to two years in prison for "discrediting" the Russian army.

A first in contemporary Russia, according to experts, Moskalyov has been separated from his 13-year-old daughter Maria since the beginning of March as retribution for his criticism of Kremlin policies.

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Early in March, Maria was taken from him and placed in a nearby "rehabilitation centre" for children; they were not allowed to communicate.

As Moscow cracks down on criticism of the offensive in Ukraine, the case has attracted national attention. The girl was not present when Moskalyov's solicitor, Vladimir Biliyenko, visited the "rehabilitation centre," he claimed on Wednesday.

He told AFP that it appeared that the people were concealing Masha, the girl's nickname. He claimed that many of her supporters also desired to see her.
The solicitor added that he was unaware of the whereabouts of her father, who is 54 years old. He added, "I hope he's alive and well."

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It is currently "difficult to predict" what will happen to Maria, according to Biliyenko. In a different trial that will start on April 6, Moskalyov may lose her parental rights. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, defended Moskalyov's sentence on Wednesday and called the father's parenting "deplorable."

Maria, however, referred to her father as "the bravest person in the world" in a letter that was posted on social media. The letter said, "I love you very much and know that you are not guilty of anything." We will be together, and everything will be fine. You are my hero, it read in the letter.

Moskalyov's solicitor attested to the letter's veracity. The attorney also criticised Russia's commissioners for human rights Tatyana Moskalkova and Maria Lvova-Belova for staying out of the case.

They are uninterested in the decision being made about a child's future, he said. Yelena Agafonova, a local advocate for human rights, declared that she was willing to take the girl in. She told AFP, "We will apply for custody of Masha, and we are putting the paperwork together.

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She thought that Moscow's offensive in Ukraine was being used as a "show case to show what will happen to those who do not agree." Moskalyov was described as a "political prisoner" by Memorial, the top human rights organisation in Russia that the government has banned. His legal situation, according to Memorial, was "an attempt to intimidate all opponents," Memorial said.