Unlawful anti-extremism in February 2012

Criminal prosecution In the middle of February 2012 in Bashkiria was sentenced twice for membership in an illegally banned Islamic organization "Hizb ut-Tahrir" under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (organization extremist organization), six convicts were sentenced to deprivation freedom, four received suspended sentences.

Then it became known initiation in the Kaliningrad region of the case under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 CC v. a follower of the theologian Said Nursi on charges of creating a non-existent cell organization "Nurcular".

At the end of the month it was initiated case under Part 2 of Art. 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (hooliganism committed by a group of persons on prior collusion) against members of the punk band Pussy Riot for the fact of the action in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. The qualification of this action under Art. 213 is highly doubtful, since there was no use of weapons, no traces of a motive hatred towards a particular religious group. We believe that in this case it would be it is more appropriate to apply Art. Part 2 Art. 5.26 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (insulting religious feelings citizens or desecration of objects, signs and emblems revered by them ideological symbolism).

in the Murmansk region a criminal case was initiated under Part 1 of Art. 282 of the Criminal Code (inciting national and social hatred). We consider the accusation unjustified insofar as it concerns inciting hatred against employees law enforcement agencies, they, from our point of view, do not apply to social groups in need of protection, as they are additionally protected other articles of Russian legislation.

At the end of February it became known that the prosecutor's office did not confirm the decision to terminate the case of the activists of the art group "War" by Oleg Vorotnikov and Leonid Nikolaev according to paragraph "b" of part 1 st. 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and returned him to the Investigative Committee. The activists are suspected of hooliganism motivated by hatred against the social group "employees militia" on the fact of the action "Palace coup". Previously This case has been closed twice already.

Note that at the beginning of the month it was once again dismissed the case of the editor of the newspaper "Vechernyaya Tyumen" Vladimir Efimov, who was accused under paragraph "b" part 2. Art. 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (inciting hatred using official position) in inciting hatred and hatred towards law enforcement officers.

Prohibition of materials for extremism

In February, the Tver prosecutor's office filed a lawsuit against recognition of the extremist children's book of Jehovah's Witnesses about Christ "Learn from Great Teacher."

The Kaluga Regional Court upheld the decision Zhukovsky district court of Tarusa, recognizing the painting as extremist Alexandra Savko "Sermon on the Mount" from the cycle "Journey Mickey Mouse in Art History" (in the painting, Mickey Mouse replaces Christ in scene of the Sermon on the Mount), and at the same time the image of the painting posted on the website zdravomyslie.ru.

police brutality

In February there were several events that give grounds to suspect employees of the Centers for Combating extremism (CPE) in illegal actions.

On the eve of the rally "For honest elections" On February 4, in St. Petersburg, an attack was made on a public activist and employee of the ADC "Memorial" Philip Kostenko. received severe injuries Kostenko believes that the unknown who beat him could be CPE staff because they repeatedly threatened him. After in Petersburg, a rally was held in support of Kostenko, threats by e-mail and phone began to receive an activist of the anti-fascist movement, taking participation in the organization of the action.

After the rally "For Fair Elections" 4 February in Nizhny Novgorod, one of its organizers was kidnapped and beaten, UHF activist Nikolai Nikolaev. Subsequently, Nikolaev and Nizhny Novgorod civic activists identified the attackers as employees of the Center for Economic Affairs of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for Nizhny Novgorod region, including Police Major Stepnov.

At the end of the month, the Nizhny Novgorod Transport Prosecutor's Office recognized illegal the January detention of the lawyer of the Committee against Torture Anton Ryzhov on suspicion of distributing extremist materials and confiscating him a laptop and information media.

Employees of the Ryazan CPE in in early February we visited the university where the head of the Ryazan department of the Russian National Alliance (RONA) Alexander Samokhin, who took part in the rally "For fair elections", and demanded that the rector expel him.

At the end of the month the movement of Tatarstan "Consent" spread a statement that the center for countering extremism of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Tatarstan created a list local extremists, which included the organizers of local actions "For Fair Elections" and other well-known sociologists and political scientists in the republic and community activists. ETC employees make informal requests to various structures (tax office, banks, etc.) in order to collect information about the financial situation of the persons on the list. Recall, according to the decision ECtHR in the case "Shimovolos v. Russia" compilation of such lists, formed without regulation accessible to citizens and without the possibility appeal violates the right to privacy.

In Petrozavodsk and Podolsk, at the end of February, they were seized under under the pretext of "testing for extremism" circulation of the report "Putin. Corruption", and in Podolsk also the report "Putin. Results. 10 years". Recall that both reports have already been seized for verification, signs of extremism was not found. But most importantly, a few copies, it cannot justify the withdrawal of a circulation of several thousand copies.