Charges brought against one of the riot participants on Manezhnaya Square

In February 2011, charges were brought against a participant in the riots on Manezhnaya Square in Moscow.

23-year-old citizen of Belarus Igor Berezyuk is charged under Art. 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (incitement of hatred or enmity), part 3 of Art. 212 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (calls for mass riots) and Part 2 of Art. 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (use of violence against a representative of the authorities).

According to investigators, Igor Berezyuk is an activist of the Other Russia association, but the organization itself denies this. As Alexander Averin, a member of the executive committee of The Other Russia, stated: “He is a citizen of Belarus, so he is rather a sympathizer.”

By court decision, I. Berezyuk is in custody.

According to lawyer Dmitry Agranovsky, Berezyuk is charged with inciting hatred against a social group of police officers. We consider this part of the accusation to be absolutely unlawful, since police officers cannot be considered a vulnerable social group that needs protection through anti-extremist legislation.

Sources

• A citizen of Belarus was charged in the case of riots on Manezhnaya Square in Moscow // NEWSru.com. 2011. February 9.