July 2009. Monthly results

During July 2009, according to our data, at least 6 people suffered from racist and neo-Nazi attacks (in July 2008, 3 people were killed and 25 people were injured of varying severity). All the July attacks were carried out by Nazi skinheads. In total, since the beginning of 2009, at least 36 people have died from such attacks, at least 171 have received various injuries (during the period of January-July 2008, at least 371 people were injured, 73 of whom died).

Since the beginning of the year, violent racist incidents have occurred in 29 regions of Russia.

In July, at least nine acts of vandalism were recorded in seven Russian regions. Memorials of the Great Patriotic War, monuments to Lenin, Jewish, Muslim and Orthodox objects suffered from the hands of vandals.

In total, since the beginning of the year, we have recorded at least 51 acts of ideologically and racistly motivated vandalism, including actions of "ideological" vandalism (desecration of monuments of the Great Patriotic War, organized actions to apply neo-Nazi graffiti, etc.) - 22 episodes, Jewish objects - 14 episodes, Orthodox - 8 episodes. Two episodes each account for Muslim and Armenian objects, one each for Catholic, Protestant and objects of new religious movements.

In July, the Federal List of Extremist Materials was updated three times (July 6, 21, and 28) to include paragraphs. 387-403. The quality of the list is still extremely poor. This time, out of 17 positions included in it in July, at least 10 cannot be identified.

In total, as of July 31, 2009, the list included 403 items (some of which include several titles), including 5 materials in respect of which court decisions on recognizing them as extremist were canceled, as well as 12 materials included in the list twice and one - thrice.

In July, at least 2 convictions were handed down for violent crimes against 2 people (in the Novgorod region and Voronezh).

In total, since the beginning of the year, 24 trials related to violent racist crimes have ended with convictions. 61 people were convicted in them (including 9 received suspended sentences, and one was sent for compulsory psychiatric treatment).

For xenophobic propaganda in July, five sentences against 8 people were handed down, and six of them received suspended sentences without additional sanctions. These trials ended in Khabarovsk (two verdicts), Arkhangelsk, Birobidzhan and Yekaterinburg.

In total, since the beginning of the year for xenophobic propaganda under Art. 282 of the Criminal Code (inciting hatred), 22 convictions were issued against 32 people (18 of them were sentenced on probation and without additional sanctions).

In the field of misuse of anti-extremist legislation, two developments were most notable.

First, an organized campaign against Jehovah's Witnesses in the Rostov region. Anti-extremist warnings were issued in several districts of the region at once), the process of liquidating their organization on the basis of anti-extremist warnings in Taganrog continues, and in Salsk, the process of recognizing a number of materials of Jehovah's Witnesses as extremist.

Secondly, in July it became known about the initiation of a case under Art. 280 (calls for extremist activity) on the fact of the publication of an article by the Perm human rights activist Igor Averkiev "Let's leave the Caucasus - we will become freer and stronger." The prosecutor's office demands that the article itself be recognized as extremist material.