Maxim Efimov appealed to the ECHR

In early March 2015, it became known that blogger Maxim Efimov filed a complaint with the ECHR.

On March 2, 2015, it became known that blogger Maxim Efimov, who is being prosecuted in Karelia under Part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code (incitement of hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity on the basis of attitude to religion), filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

In his complaint to the ECHR, Efimov claims that the harsh tone of the article in itself cannot serve as a sign of extremism. In his opinion, the criminal prosecution and the threat of placing him in a psychiatric hospital were an attempt to neutralize his activities as a civil activist and human rights defender, and this is a violation of Article 10 of the European Convention, which guarantees the right to freedom of expression.

The case against Efimov, who was then the chairman of the Karelia Youth Human Rights Group (YHRG), was opened in April 2012; the investigation was subsequently suspended , and then reopened on January 25, 2013. Let us recall that the reason for its opening was the article "Karelia is tired of priests" published on the YHRG website in December 2011. Since the second half of May 2012, Efimov has been in Estonia, where he received political refugee status. He explains his departure by the fact that he cannot count on a fair and impartial examination of the criminal case brought against him. Efimov has been placed on the federal wanted list.

We believe that the case against Efimov was brought unlawfully. In our opinion, his note is written in a rather aggressive tone, but does not contain any calls for illegal actions, and, in accordance with Resolution No. 11 of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation "On judicial practice in criminal cases on crimes of an extremist nature", "criticism of religious associations in itself should not be considered an action aimed at inciting hatred or enmity."

Sources

• Kornya Anastasia. Extremism in words // Vedomosti. 2015. March 2.