Unlawful anti-extremism in June 2015

We publish review of the main and most significant developments in the field of illegal enforcement of anti-extremist legislation in Russia in June 2015.

Rulemaking

In mid-June, by decree of the Government of the Russian Federation approved the rules for determining the list of organizations specified in the updated parts of the third and fourth art. 6 of the law "On perpetuating the Victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 years", as well as the attributes and symbols of these organizations. Formation the list is assigned to the Ministry of Justice. Organizations that have collaborated with Nazis or actions that justify them should be included in the list on on the basis of documents submitted to the Ministry of Justice by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the FSB, the General prosecutor's office and other federal government bodies . The out-of-court procedure for compiling the list itself raises doubts.

Inclusion in the list of paraphernalia and symbols will occur also on the basis of court decisions on the appointment administrative punishment for an offense under Art. 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. So Thus, it follows from the text of the rules that if an organization is included in the list of its symbols is entered upon the fact that it was assigned administrative penalty. In other words, determining which symbolism is already organizations on the list is prohibited, delegated to the police and local courts, who hardly have the necessary competence.

Criminal prosecution

In mid-June, the Central District Court Kaliningrad found guilty three Kaliningrad activists who in March 2014 posted on the garage of the regional FSB department for flag of Germany, according to part 2 of Art. 213 of the Criminal Code (hooliganism committed by a group of persons prior conspiracy based on political hatred and enmity and motives of hatred against any social group), and sentenced to real deprivation of liberty, however, taking into account the time spent in the pre-trial detention center, all three activists released in the courtroom. Dmitry Fonarev and Oleg Savvin sentenced to one year and one month in a penal colony under Part 2 of Art. 213 Criminal Code, Mikhail Feldman was also sentenced to one year and one month under Part 2 of Art. 213, as well as to six months in prison on charges under Art. 222 of the Criminal Code (illegal possession of explosives), by partial addition of penalties - to one year, one month and 23 days of imprisonment in a penal colony. We We regard this sentence as invalid.

In June it became known that in Naberezhnye Chelny city ​​court transferred the case of the chairman of the Tatar public center of Rafis Kashapov. It emerged from the indictment that, in addition to the incriminated part 1 of Art. 282 of the Criminal Code (inciting hatred or enmity), Kashapov was charged under Part 2 of Art. 280.1 of the Criminal Code (public calls for the implementation of actions aimed at violating the territorial integrity RF). Kashapov is accused of publishing from July 1 to December 11, 2014 in the public domain on his page in the social network "VKontakte" four materials: "Crimea and Ukraine will be free from invaders!", "Yesterday Hitler and Danzig, today Putin and Donetsk!", "Let's protect Ukraine and the entire Turkic world", "Where Russia is, there are tears and death" (One of these materials was written by Rafis Kashapov's brother Nafis). On our view, Kashapov's accusations under Art. 280.1 of the Criminal Code are illegal. Persecution for statement of one's own opinion and the norms of international law in relation to the question of the annexation of Crimea is a clearly excessive restriction of freedom of speech. Signs of a crime under Art. 282 of the Criminal Code, determined on the basis examination, which was found in Kashapov's texts " language tools for the purposeful transfer of negative assessments of Russians, Russian authorities, Vladimir Putin on the basis of "attitude towards the nation" . We We believe that the materials incriminated to Kashapov do not contain any signs inciting hatred on ethnic grounds. We did not find in them calls to military action. In May 2015, Memorial Human Rights Center recognized Rafis Kashapov as a political prisoner and demanded his immediate release.

The case of an activist from Krasnodar Darya Polyudova was was sent for additional investigation for the fourth time due to the fact that there were new charges were brought, this time under Art. 319 of the Criminal Code (insulting a representative of authority). occasion for investigation under this article was a published entry by Polyudova about the vices of the Putin regime in VKontakte, in which, in particular, it was proposed to support the stated in obscene form. Recall that Polyudova charged under h.h. 1 and 2 Art. 280 of the Criminal Code (public calls for extremist activities) and Part 2 of Art. 280.1 of the Criminal Code (public calls for action, aimed at violating the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation). From our point of view, criminal the prosecution of the activist under these two articles of the Criminal Code is unlawful. We believe, that separatist calls deserve persecution only when coupled with calls for violent actions, which Polyudova did not allow. We were unable to get to know with the full text of Polyudova's posts, which were regarded by law enforcement bodies like " motivational statements calling for violent change in the foundations of the constitutional order of the Russian Federation and violent change in the political system . "However, apparently, the dangers they didn't represent.

In June it became known about the criminal case, initiated in Taganrog Rostov region for hours. 1 Article. 282 of the Criminal Code (excitation hatred or enmity due to belonging to a social group) in relation to a 31-year-old residents of the city. According to investigators, the woman downloaded from the social network "VKontakte" leaflet with the title "ACAB, or all the cops bastards", printed 50 copies on the printer and on November 10, 2014 (on the eve of Police Day) pasted at bus stops and lampposts along the street Dzerzhinsky in Taganrog. It is reported that the examination carried out on the case I found in the text of the leaflet " statements of a motivational nature, calling for hostile action against police officers ." Unfortunately, the content of the leaflet, the distribution of which is incriminated a resident of Taganrog, we do not know. In general, we believe that the unclear concept social group is a source for abuse and should be excluded from anti-extremist articles. In addition, we believe that police officers are not among the vulnerable social groups requiring protection through article 282 of the Criminal Code. Thus, the accusation is at least formulated incorrectly.

In mid-June, in Ufa, the Moscow District Military court sentenced eight accused of collaborating with Hizb ut-Tahrir". They were found guilty under part 2 of article 282.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (participation in activities of an extremist organization) and cc. 1, 2 art. 205.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (organization of the activities of a terrorist organization and participation in it). Court believes that Ilgiz Salakhov in 2011-2014. led in the city of Dyurtyuli and Dyurtyulinsky district by a Hizb ut-Tahrir cell, whose members involved to the organization of parishioners of local mosques, showing them "extremist video materials and literature built on methods of psychological influence and manipulation " . The court sentenced Salakhova to 10 years 6 months in prison in a penal colony of strict regime with restriction of freedom for 1 year, the rest of the accused received from five up to six and a half years in a general regime colony. This is the first time that members Hizb ut-Tahrir were convicted under Art. 205.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Recall we We consider it unlawful to ban this organization as a terrorist organization. There are many features that make the movement wary and allow the state ban it, but neither the teachings nor the practice of Hizb ut-Tahrir allow us to consider this organization a terrorist organization.

In the same days it became known about the approval of the indictment on the criminal case initiated in 2013 under part 2 Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code (participation in the activities of an extremist organization) in relation to 16 supporters of the Tablighi Jamaat movement in Novosibirsk. all of them accused of spreading the ideas of a banned religious organizing, recruiting supporters and participating in the Tablighi Jamaat" meetings. Recall that we regard it as an unlawful ban religious association "Tablighi Jamaat", which is engaged in propaganda of Islam and was not seen in calls for violence, and we believe unjustified persecution of his supporters.

Administrative persecution

In June we became known that under Art. 20.29 of the Code of Administrative Offenses for illegal distribution prohibited materials or possession of such materials for the purpose of distribution were four individuals and one legal entity were held liable. Among fined - the head of the Mogochinsky district of the Trans-Baikal Territory Dmitry Plyukhin, for publishing on his page in LiveJournal illegally prohibited video of supporters of Alexei Navalny "Let's remember their crooks and thieves Manifesto-2002". A prisoner from one of the correctional colonies of the Ryazan region was also punished for publication on VKontakte of the book "Gardens of the Righteous", the ban on which was lifted by a court decision, Samara businessman behind leaflets with the slogan "Die for homeland, and not because of drunkenness" and Alexander Savko's painting "The Sermon on the Mount", Omsk journalist Viktor Korb for the publication on website "Omsk political" cover of the bulletin "Radical policy. Newspaper of the Anti-Imperial Committee of Russia" No. 2, September 2011, some articles from which were banned. IN concerning the community of Jehovah's Witnesses in Birobidzhan (JAO), a protocol was drawn up on storage of religious brochures recognized as extremist for the purpose of their further distribution.

In June, we became aware of four cases of prosecution under Art. 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses for demonstration of Nazi symbols, not aimed at promoting Nazism. IN Kalmykia chief editor of the newspaper "Elistinsky courier" A. Emgeldinov was fined, and the director of the printing house where the newspaper is printed was presented prosecutor's office due to the fact that an article published in the newspaper about the danger of growth neo-Nazi sentiment was illustrated by a photograph of a St. Petersburg skinhead with a Nazi eagle tattoo. Former Deputy of the Kurgan City Duma Ivan Kamshilov was found guilty of material about his rival in the elections to the Duma of Kurgan was illustrated photo with a swastika, which in this case was used as means of criticism. An activist in Izhevsk Party of Progress Timofey Klabukov was sentenced to a fine for publication on Facebook of photos of public actions of parties - participants "Russian Conservative Forum" in St. Petersburg; some the people in the photographs were holding flags with swastikas, the goal of the activist was not propaganda, but a demonstration of the danger of ultra-right organizations, invited by the Rodina party to St. Petersburg with the knowledge of the authorities. The above-mentioned Krasnodar activist Daria Polyudova was sentenced to 10 days of administrative arrest for posting on the VKontakte social network two images with a swastika, neither of which was related to Nazi propaganda.

For imperfection content filters, which, in principle, cannot filter out all prohibited content, under Art. 6.17 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (violation of the legislation of the Russian Federation on the protection of children from information, harmful to their health and (or) development) were brought to responsible for four directors of educational institutions in Tuva and the owner computer club from Surgut (KhMAO-Yugra).

Prohibition of organizations and materials for extremism, blocking information on the network and other state actions

In early June, it became known that the prosecutor's office of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic applied to the city court of Cherkessk with the demand to recognize as extremist and liquidate the city organization Jehovah's Witnesses. The reason was that two members of the organization and herself The community were recently fined under Art. 20.29 of the Code of Administrative Offenses for storage and distribution of two prohibited pamphlets. After that, the community received a warning about inadmissibility of extremist activity, however, according to the prosecutor's office, continued to distribute banned literature. In the event of a ban and liquidation of the community, its members will be under the threat of criminal prosecution under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code for the continuation of the activities of an organization recognized as extremist. As a reminder, we consider the persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses and the banning of their texts as extremism illegal.

From the update of the Federal List extremist materials in June it became known that by the decision of the Kotelnich district court of the Kirov region dated April 16, 2015 to it under paragraph 2858 included three Muslim books: "Pictures from the life of the companions Prophet" Abdulhamid ibn Abdurrahman as-Suhaybani, "Interpretation beautiful names of Allah in the light of the Qur'an and Sunnah" Said ibn Ali ibn Wahf al-Qahtani and "The Limit of the Desired. A summary of the book" Correct the way of understanding monotheism" Sheikh Salih ibn Abd al-Aziz Al ash-Sheikh" M.H. Al-Qahtani. All these religious works do not contain signs of extremism.

By the decision of the Tagilstroevsky District Court of Nizhny Tagil, Sverdlovsk Region dated March 30, 2015, under paragraph 2843, it was included video "Jesus in Islam and Christianity. Innocence Christians", posted on YouTube. The video denies the divine nature Christ, which is quite natural for the preachers of Islam. However, such theological issues are not included in the scope of anti-extremist legislation. In addition, the Federal List was added brochures and bulletin recognized as extremist by the decision of the Tetyush district court of Tatarstan April 7, 2015: brochure "Stages of conscription (ziyarat)" (No. 2836 on the Federal List), Righteous Family brochure (No. 2837), 13th issue of the Information and Analytical Digest 2007 (No. 2838), "The Way to Faith" by Taqi al-Din al-Nabhani (No. 2839) and "Fundamentals of the upbringing of children" by Najah al-Sabatin (No. 2840). These materials are related to the Hizb ut-Tahrir party. Unfortunately, we do not have the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with most of them, but the study of the text "Fundamentals of the upbringing of children" - in which, in our opinion, there are no signs extremism - indicates that not all of them contain a dangerous propaganda.

In June it became known that the Pushkinsky District Court of St. Petersburg in May recognized extremist material essay writer Yevgeny Babushkin "Charlie Chaplin - black ... th. On the attitude towards migrants", published on the website of the publication "Snob" back on October 17, 2013. Experts considered that " the text contains indirect indications of encouraging citizens to action; statements containing offensive characteristics and negative emotional assessment, negative attitude are given in the form of non-categorical judgments . In our opinion, such a decision of the court is unlawful. Babushkin's text presents is a literary and publicistic work directed against xenophobic petty-bourgeois stereotypes, everyday xenophobia and anti-migrant sentiments. The main pathos of the essay is to affirm the equality of people any ethnic origin and the need for respect and humane treatment to them. The style of the text is controversial, and the use of pejorative vocabulary, especially in headline, looks unethical and may end up being more harmful to the public atmosphere, regardless of the intentions of the author, but these considerations are irrelevant to law enforcement.

The decision of the city court looks anecdotal Asbest about the recognition of the text "Dulles' Plan for destruction of the USSR (Russia)", which was distributed in the city as leaflets. Experts of the forensic laboratory of the Federal Security Service of Russia in Sverdlovsk areas found in this infamous text information aimed at " to incite hatred and enmity towards representatives state power of modern Russia ." "The Dulles Plan" (or "The Dulles Doctrine") - a text attributed to the head of the CIA, Allen Dulles and from the beginning of the 90s circulated among supporters of theories conspiracy who believed that the United States intended to break up the Soviet Union by moral decay of its population. This text is composed primarily of statements of the negative hero of Anatoly Ivanov's novel "Eternal call" written in 1981. Looking for signs of "inciting hatred and enmity towards representatives of state power of modern Russia" in the well-known fake can only be explained by the fact that FSB experts are not familiar with its origin.

At the end of June, at the request of the Prosecutor General's Office was blocked and entered into the register of the Lugovoy website of the Society for the Protection of Rights consumers (OZPP). The blog of the head of the OZPP Mikhail Anshakov was blocked in Live magazine. The Prosecutor General's Office sent materials to the TFR to resolve the issue of initiation of a criminal case under Part 2 of Art. 280.1 of the Criminal Code. The basis for all these action was published on the site "Memo for Russian tourists going on vacation to the Crimea", in which a recommendation was given comply with Ukrainian legislation and obtain permission to visit Crimea at the border service of Ukraine, since Crimea, from the point of view of international law, is an occupied territory. OZPP intends to appeal the ban. We believe that persecution for setting standards international law is a direct violation of freedom of speech.

At the end of the month, the Election Commission of the Magadan Region issued a warning party RPR-PARNAS. Members of the election commission saw in the campaign brochure about illegal enrichment of representatives of the authorities, prepared by the party, signs inciting hatred towards a social group "officialdom" and banned the distribution of the material, as well as expressed their intention to send materials about the brochure to prosecutor's office to check and make a procedural decision to ban it. Brochure "History of illicit enrichment" is spreading in the area as part of election campaign to the Magadan Regional Duma, in which, according to the lists RPR-PARNAS is attended by associates of Alexei Navalny from the Anti-Corruption Foundation.