An appeal has been filed in the case of the German flag on the FSB building

Three Kaliningrad activists intend to seek acquittal.

On July 6, 2015, it became known that three Kaliningrad activists who hung the German flag on the FSB building appealed the verdict .

Let us recall that on June 17, 2015, the Central District Court of Kaliningrad found Dmitry Fonarev, Oleg Savvin and Mikhail Feldman, who in March 2014 hung a German flag on the garage of the FSB Directorate for the Kaliningrad Region, guilty under Part 2 of Art. 213 of the Criminal Code (hooliganism committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy on the grounds of political hatred and enmity and on grounds of hatred against any social group) and sentenced to actual imprisonment. Taking into account the time spent in pre-trial detention, all three activists were released in the courtroom.

The court recognized the motive of “ political hatred and enmity ” in the actions of Fonarev, Feldman and Savvin, and the social group against which hatred was incited was “ veterans of the Great Patriotic War .”

Dmitry Fonarev and Oleg Savvin were 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 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 punishments - to one year, one month and 23 days of imprisonment in a general regime colony.

The defendants did not admit the charges. In addition, the defense stated that the episode that served as the basis for sentencing under Art. 222, falsified.

The verdict of the Central District Court of Kaliningrad, from our point of view, is unlawful. Let us recall that we believe that the unclear concept of a social group is a source of abuse and should be excluded from anti-extremist articles. In addition, according to the explanation of the Supreme Court regarding the practice of applying anti-extremist legislation, criticism of political figures (that is, the authorities) should not be considered as incitement to hatred.

Sources

• Kaliningraders convicted for the flag over the FSB building will demand acquittal // Rosbalt. 2015. July 6.