The center "E" came for the Murmansk blogger

A criminal case was instituted in Murmansk against blogger Alexander Serebryanikov

The owner and editor of the Bloger51 site is accused of the first part of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of Russia (actions aimed at initiating hatred or hostility on the grounds of gender, race, nationality, language, etc., committed publicly or using the media) .

According to fragmentary information that can be gleaned in the local blogosphere, a civil journalist is accused of posting on his own website about the murder of the former head of the Murmansk Region in Moscow, 45-year-old Adil Nazim Makhmudov. In particular, the blogger wrote that Makhmudov was “a“ resolution ”with ties in the power organs and was related to affairs in the port of Vysotsk.”

The publication was dated March 5, 2013. However, only now the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee for the Murmansk Region decided that the site posts extremist content.

“The extremist content of the posted article that followed it and the procedure for their placement on the Internet are the subject of a study of the preliminary investigation bodies,” said Tatyana Kovaleva , senior assistant to the head of the SCD SC in the Murmansk Region. - Specialists in psychology, philology, linguistics, as well as computer technology and software will be involved as experts. ”

The blogger himself does not hide that in a short note at the time of publication, phrases were really contained that can be qualified as extremist. However, their authorship belonged to an unknown person. Simply put, someone hacked the Bloger51 website and attributed several proposals to the note, which later aroused the interest of Murmansk law enforcement officers. At the moment, the note is "cleaned" from undesirable content.

Now it is precisely on this that the lawyers of Alexander Serebryanikov will build their protection. True, the situation is complicated by a certain “confession”, which, according to Tatyana Kovaleva, wrote a blogger. But his lawyers say that "the client pleaded guilty not in extremism, but in the possible disclosure of the secrets of the investigation, as he posted the screen of the article that caused a claim from law enforcement agencies to Twitter."

Alexander Serebryanikov himself cannot answer the questions of journalists, as it is connected by a subscription about the non -disclosure of the investigation materials, which in the local blogosphere also causes bewilderment. Typically, such an agreement with the investigation is applied in the investigation of criminal cases on serious crimes, including those related to state secrets, the chairman of the Council of the Murmansk Regional Public Organization Open City, political scientist Konstantin Guptskiy, said in a telephone interview for Radio Freedom.

The statement of this organization, which was widespread on Friday, in particular, says that Alexander Serebryanikov himself “ has repeatedly publicly confirmed that he will never allow the posting of information on his website, which can be attributed to extremist or inciting national strife. He demonstrates an absolutely correct attitude towards people of any nationality, religion, and convictions.”

At the same time, the authors of the statement do not hide that the Bloger51 website, being one of the most popular Internet sites of the Murmansk region, often “carries another point of view“ to events taking place in the region.

"The pages of the site came and come with their interviews, comments on politicians of all directions, deputies, heads of municipalities, ministers, former governor of the region, and most importantly, ordinary citizens who often lost all hope that their voice will be heard," the authors write.

Konstantin Guptsky refrains from the assessment of the possible role in the persecution of the blogger Alexander Serebryanikov, the Murmansk authorities, but does not exclude that "some people are beneficial for Bloger51 to be silent forever."

"The decision of the investigation is absurd to classify the case regarding the placement of material in such a public space as the Internet. Especially when it comes to information that, according to the investigation, has read many thousands of visitors to the site. Or is it so clumsy that it does not withstand any public criticism?" - Konstantin head asks a question.

The observers are doubtful and another circumstance. The Center for Combating Extremism of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Murmansk region drew attention to the note posted on the site, only recently. Immediately after its publication in early March, not a single authorized body was concerned about its content. Although Bloger51, according to its creators, was most thoroughly monitored by the special units of the police and the FSB.

This, as well as the fact that in relation to Alexander Serebryanikov, the methods of psychological pressure and blackmail are used by the investigation, even more confirm the provocative and custom nature of the matter, the blogger supporters believe.

None of the Murmansk politicians are still interfering in the situation. The governor of the Murmansk region Marina Kovtun reacted to a criminal case against a popular blogger with a remark on her Twitter: "I do not comment and do not intervene in the activities of law enforcement officers, although I personally like Serebryanikov."

The spokesman for the governor Alexander Volkov was surprised that the Blogger case was associated with the reaction to his publication in some offices of the regional administration.

"The governor of the Murmansk region welcomes the variety of points of view on its work, the work of the government. Sites like Bloger51.com, with all their shortcomings, really help to fight corruption, open the shortcomings in the work of officials. They are part of civil society," Volkov said.