The court declared the criminal case against the leader of Sterlitamak Yabloko illegal

The Sterlitamak court yesterday declared illegal the criminal case against the leader of the local Yabloko party, Damir Garifullin, which the city police department opened in April. The criminal prosecution of Mr. Garifullin began at the request of the deputy head of the city administration, Anatoly Chernov, who saw the actions of the oppositionist as an insult to his honor and dignity.

As Kommersant wrote in early April, on February 13, Damir Garifullin organized and held a rally in the center of Sterlitamak in defense of the rights of homeowners and against the increase in housing and communal services tariffs. Participants in the event erected an improvised gallows made of boards on the square in front of the former recreation center of the machine tool plant, on which they hung a plywood effigy with the sign “snickering corrupt official.” At the rally, the leader of Yabloko said, in particular, that city management companies inflate the tariffs set by the city administration by more than a third, and shops are allegedly opening illegally in the basements of residential buildings that are in common ownership. Also, Mr. Garifullin pointed out at the rally, small businesses pay a bribe to one of the deputy heads of the city administration for renting premises, although the official’s name was not mentioned. Deputy head Anatoly Chernov came from the mayor's office to the authorized meeting, to whom the demonstrators tried to present a poster stylized as a travel card with the inscription “Sterlitamak - Magadan.” As Mr. Garifullin explained to Kommersant then, the exile to Magadan was supposed to symbolize “not hard labor, but a city in which housing and communal services tariffs are the highest, which is a generally recognized fact.” Mr. Chernov regarded the actions of the rally participants as an insult to honor and dignity. In his opinion, “the share was paid for by a number of management companies” in order to achieve his resignation.

On March 2, the Sterlitamak Internal Affairs Directorate registered a statement from Mr. Chernov with a request to bring Mr. Garifullin to criminal liability for “deliberate insults made at the rally.” On March 5, the official also filed a civil suit for the protection of honor and dignity with the Sterlitamak City Court, demanding that the leader of Yabloko pay compensation for moral damage in the amount of 50 thousand rubles. On the same day, the deputy head sent a similar statement to the city magistrate court with a demand to bring the organizer of the action to justice under the articles “Slander” and “Humiliation of honor and dignity.” In one of the statements, the official called the organizers of the rally “thugs” and pointed out that “they provoked the authorities with their actions.” In the local “Yabloko”, the fact that the official appealed to the court and the Internal Affairs Directorate was explained by the fact that Mr. Chernov allegedly recognized himself in the plywood effigy.

On March 15, the Sterlitamak Magistrate Court refused to accept Anatoly Chernov’s claim and sent his application to the investigative authorities “for consideration on the merits.” The Sterlitamak Internal Affairs Directorate opened a criminal case against Mr. Garifullin under Article 130 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Insult to Human Dignity”, which two weeks later the Sterlitamak Prosecutor’s Office canceled as illegal, and then successively two more cases - under the articles “Slander” and “Insult of an Official”. The prosecutor's office subsequently also declared the decision on one of them illegal. On May 12, Mr. Garifullin was given a recognizance order, but no charges were brought against him.

On June 1, the Yabloko leader appealed the decision in the Sterlitamak City Court, pointing out that the criminal case against him was initiated illegally. Yesterday, the court satisfied the plaintiff's request, recognizing the decision to initiate a criminal case as subject to cancellation. Mr. Garifullin told Kommersant about this that he considered the decision fair, although “he did not believe that the court would rule in my favor, and thought that I would have to seek the truth in the Supreme Court of Bashkiria or Russia.” He also clarified that in June he and his opponent came to an agreement on the issue of satisfying the civil demands of the official. “On June 10, Anatoly Chernov and I entered into a settlement agreement stating that we have no claims against each other, and therefore Mr. Chernov’s demand for payment of moral damages was declared insignificant,” said Mr. Garifullin. Moreover, he said, as a result of this story, “Mr. Chernov and I have developed a good relationship, and I have repeatedly had the opportunity to discuss various issues with him.”

Yesterday it was not possible to find out the reaction to the court decision of Mr. Chernov, on whose application the case was initiated. At his reception they said that “the manager is away, and we do not comment on his personal affairs.”

Ilya Amladov

Didn't answer for the scarecrow