Verdict handed down in German flag case

On June 17, 2015, three Kaliningrad activists who hung the German flag on the FSB building in March 2014 received real terms, but were released in the courtroom.

June 17, 2015 Central District Court Kaliningrad recognized three Kaliningrad activists who in March 2014 posted on the building of the FSB Directorate for the Kaliningrad Region, the German flag, guilty under Part 2 of Art. 213 of the Criminal Code (hooliganism committed by a group of persons by prior agreement on motives of political hatred and enmity and motives of hatred against any social group) and sentenced to real imprisonment, however, taking into account the time spent in the SIZO, all three activists released in the courtroom.

Dmitry Fonarev and Oleg Savvin sentenced to one year and one month in a general regime colony under Part 2 of Art. 213 of the Criminal Code, Mikhail Feldman was also sentenced to one year and one month under Part 2 of Art. 213, a also to six months in prison on charges under Art. 222 of the Criminal Code (illegal storage explosives), by partial addition of punishments - to one year, one month and 23 days of imprisonment in a penal colony.

The court agreed with the arguments of the prosecutor's office and " in the actions of Fonarev, Feldman and Savvin recognized the motive of " political hatred and enmity , and the social group against which hatred was raised - " veterans of the Great Patriotic War ".

The defendants pleaded not guilty to the charges. Except Moreover, the defense stated that the episode that served as the basis for the sentence under Art. 222, falsified.

We regard this verdict as illegal. Recall that we believe that the vague concept of a social group is a source of abuse and should be removed from the anti-extremist articles. Again, we reiterate that, according to the Supreme Court's clarification regarding the practice application of anti-extremist legislation, criticism of political figures (that is, the authorities) should not be considered as inciting hatred, and this consideration is quite appropriate to disseminate and for this case.

Sources

• Sentence in Kaliningrad: the flag case // Mediazone. 2015. June 17.