March 30, 2015, 10:47 pm / Politics

The first person accused under the “separatist” article of the Criminal Code complained to the Strasbourg court

Krasnodar activist is charged with calling for violation of the integrity of the Russian Federation Anastasia Kornya

Polyudova has been charged with promoting extremism and separatism for posts on the social network VKontakte / freeimages.com

The organizer of the failed “March for the federalization of Kuban”, Daria Polyudova, who became the first accused under the “separatist” article of the Criminal Code (Article 280.1 “calls for actions aimed at violating the territorial integrity of Russia”), complained about unfair criminal prosecution to the European Court of Justice human rights (ECHR), her lawyer Alexander Popkov told Vedomosti. The activist claims that the initiation of a criminal case for criticizing the authorities, as well as prolonged detention on such charges, are disproportionate and too harsh in relation to her actions. Her statements cannot be qualified as extremism - they are only an expression of opinion, the applicant is sure, and according to the European Convention on Human Rights she has the right to do so freely and without restrictions.

A criminal case against Polyudova was initiated in August 2014. She was charged with promoting extremism and separatism for posts on the VKontakte social network. The girl spent six months in pre-trial detention and was released on her own recognizance: the law does not allow keeping her in prison longer on suspicion of a crime of moderate gravity. Formally, Polyudova is challenging precisely her arrest, Popkov clarifies: a complaint to the ECHR can only be made after the case has been considered by national courts. But if the charges go to trial and are sentenced, they can be appealed later - usually the ECHR consolidates such complaints. This technique is often practiced; it helps speed up the consideration of a case, which usually takes the ECHR several years, the lawyer says.

The press service of the FSB Directorate for the Krasnodar Territory was unavailable to journalists yesterday.

Criminal prosecution for calls for separatism has not become a widespread practice, says Alexander Verkhovsky, director of the SOVA information and analytical center; the case of Daria Polyudova remains the only known case of application of Art. 280.1. In fact, it was introduced rather to intimidate those who believe that “Crimea is not ours,” since calls for separatism themselves fall within the scope of the main extremist article, the expert explains. On the other hand, any novel is usually used extremely reluctantly: no one wants to be a pioneer and score the bumps that come with such an occasion. But it is possible that by the time the ECHR makes a decision in the Polyudova case, there will be more similar precedents, Verkhovsky summarizes.