FSB against the defender of Pomors

On November 12, the Oktyabrsky District Court of Arkhangelsk will begin considering the case of human rights activist, director of the Pomor Institute of Indigenous Minorities of the North, Ivan Moseev, whom the FSB suspected of inciting ethnic hatred. Moseev was charged under Part 1 of Art. 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Ivan Moseev told PublicPost how the FSB saw him as an extremist and traitor to the Motherland.

Ivan Moseev, head of the Association of Pomors of the Arkhangelsk Region, according to the Investigative Committee, on April 1, 2012, went to the website “Echo of the Russian North” and left a comment under the article “ Pomorie in the Eurasian World ” under the nickname “Pomors”, which contained humiliating characteristics and negative emotional assessments of the ethnic group "Russians". The offensive comment formed the basis of the accusation. On July 4, a criminal case was initiated, on July 25, Moseev’s home was searched, and on October 10, charges were filed . Moseev himself refused to testify in the case, using Article 51 of the Constitution, but PublicPost explained that he did not leave the attributed comment and considers the incident to be another provocation of the special services, which began to closely monitor him since the IV Interregional Congress of Pomors held in Arkhangelsk a year ago.

Ivan Moseev, director of the Pomor Institute of Indigenous Peoples of the North:

Under the article, indeed, there is my comment, but absolutely not the one attributed to me; in my comment I accuse the author of the article, Anatoly Bednov, of provocation. I even called him to find out why he wrote this article, which drives a wedge between the Pomors and the Russians. But I didn’t leave the comment “What are you going to do with us? There are millions of you rednecks, and we are two thousand people.” I went to the provider to find out how the FSB discovered my IP address for this comment, because at the time of publication of this comment I was sleeping and my computer was turned off. They couldn't tell me anything at all.

The case was initiated at the request of the founder of the news agency "Echo of the Russian North" Ilya Azovsky. He complained to the FSB about the comment and provided the intelligence services with an IP address. In court, representatives of the FSB, Azovsky himself, and two old cleaning ladies from the FSB, Kotlova and Bulychova, who were brought in as witnesses when documenting the crime - the commentary, will speak against me.

Not a single lawyer undertook to defend me; I barely found a defender - former prosecutor Veniamin Belov. We will present an independent examination of this phrase in court. The expert claims that there is no incitement in the comment under the name “Pomors”. This comment is a rude response to an offensive comment.

This criminal case is the first step to put me in prison, judging by the phrases contained in the criminal case, it is clear to me and the lawyer that, in fact, a case of high treason was being prepared, and perhaps it will be initiated after how the “extremist” case will end. But judge for yourself, here’s the wording: “Norwegian special services, through Moseev, are working to destabilize the socio-political situation in the Arkhangelsk region.” “Moseev, with the support of foreign structures, carried out activities aimed at recognizing the Pomors as an indigenous small people of the North by the federal authorities of the Russian Federation and including the territory of their residence in the jurisdiction of international law, which could lead to a violation of the territorial integrity of Russia.” It's the same as in 1937!

We, indeed, are seeking official status for the Pomors as a small indigenous people; the Kamchadals received the same status. And not only us - the administration of the Arkhangelsk region twice appealed to Moscow with a request to recognize the Pomors as an indigenous people. The organization that I represent to protect the rights of Pomors is harmless and small in number. We are engaged in protecting traditions, culture of Pomors, and protecting their rights. We are trying to restore their right to fish and hunt, which they have been doing since time immemorial. To suspect us of attempting to secede from Russia or of conspiring with Norway is simply absurd.

The version that the FSB is secretly conducting a case against me under the article of high treason is supported by the fact that the document authorizing the FSB to wiretap my phone, which was signed by Judge Vera Kokunova, contains precisely Article 275.

The position of the author of the Azovsky website is surprising: he deletes the advertising comment under the article, about which he writes his own comment, but leaves the “extremist” one, after which he goes to the FSB and writes a statement. If the comment attributed to me is extremist, then why is it still available?

Most likely, I will be found guilty and given a suspended sentence, I understand that it is very easy to turn a suspended sentence into a real one."

PublicPost was unable to talk with Ilya Azovsky, so we present his position on the materials of the criminal case.

Ilya Azovsky, editor-in-chief and moderator of the website “Echo of the Russian North”:

...I identified the IP address of a user under the nickname “Pomors”, under which he left the above extremist comment against the Russian people. I believe that the specified comment under the nickname “Pomors” was directed specifically against the Russian people, contained a humiliating characterization and a negative emotional assessment of the ethnic group “Russians” and was aimed at inciting hatred in society on ethnic grounds.

I believe that the ethnic group "Russians" has the same rights as other ethnic groups, and their representatives should not be subjected to insults based on their nationality.

I reported to the FSB that a person under the nickname “Pomory” left the above comment on the website www.echosevera.ru.

Center "Sova ", experts in the field of nationalism and xenophobia, the relationship between religion and society:

From our point of view, the statement left on the website of “Echo of the Russian North”, which became the reason for the initiation of a criminal case, can well be attributed to hate speech, but it in no way contains any calls, and the persecution of Moseev looks completely absurd.