"Extremism" as the final argument in a political debate

In Crimea, Mustafa Yagyaev, a participant in the conflict about the consequences of annexing Crimea to the Russian Federation, is being tried for inciting hatred with the threat of violence.

At the end of May 2015, it became known that in the Bakhchisarai district the court of the Republic of Crimea is considering the case under Part 2 of Art. 282 of the Criminal Code (excitation hatred and enmity with the use of violence or with the threat of its use) relation to the locksmith of the housing and communal services of the village of Zheleznodorozhnoye, Bakhchisaray district of Crimea, Mustafa Yagyaev.

The case was initiated after a quarrel between Yagyaev and employees of the accounting department of the housing and communal services. Yagyaev, who does not agree with the assessments the consequences of the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Federation, issued by colleagues, began to shout, to use insulting epithets towards them - and, according to investigators, he stated the following: “ We will return Crimea to Ukraine, there will be a war, we will cut and burn you, and the Russians will choke on blood in this war, but it's a pity that my Muslim brothers will die " (the defendant himself categorically denies having said the last sentence).

This, in fact, domestic, conflict became known in the CPE, employees which they filed a case.

As part of the investigation of the criminal case, Yagyaev (a practicing Muslim, in the 90s a member of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis) was search, during which religious literature, computer hard disks, various documents.

In our opinion, the case under Art. 282 of the Criminal Code against Yagyaev initiated illegally. Even if we assume that he really made threats to use violence (and there are certain doubts about this), these statements were not made publicly. He addressed three women who were in within the same room.

Sources

• Case card No. 1-124/2015 // Website of the Bakhchisaray District Court of the Republic of Crimea. May 25, 2015
• Racheva Elena. Patriots and Wahhabis // New Newspaper. 2015. May 29.