A criminal case was opened against the director of the Library of Ukrainian Literature

A criminal case has been initiated against the director of the Library of Ukrainian Literature, Natalia Sharina, for inciting hatred or enmity using her official position (under clause “b” of the second part of Article 282 of the Criminal Code). This was stated on October 29 by the official representative of the Investigative Committee Vladimir Markin. The department will petition for Sharina's detention.

According to investigators, in 2011-2015, Sharina distributed among library visitors books by Dmitro Korchinsky, recognized as extremist (in the Federal list of more than three thousand prohibited materials published on the website of the Ministry of Justice, no mention of Korchinsky was found ). The Investigative Committee also claims that during a search in the library, “printed materials containing calls for anti-Russian and anti-Russian propaganda” were seized.

According to media reports, Natalya Sharina was detained on the evening of October 28. An unnamed TASS source in law enforcement reported that she was detained for 48 hours. The detention was preceded by searches in the library building and in the apartment of Sharina, as well as the chairman of the Association of Ukrainians in Russia, Valery Semenenko.

The information and analytical center SOVA, which monitors cases of unlawful prosecution for extremism, has repeatedly reminded that anti-extremist and library legislation in Russia contradict each other, which leads to regular cases of persecution of library employees.

In particular, the library code requires libraries to keep all books that come to the fund. According to the federal law on librarianship, “state or other censorship that restricts the right of library users to free access to library funds is not allowed,” and “libraries that are on full or partial budget funding must reflect in their activities the ideological and political trends that have developed in society. manifold".

UPD. The Federal List of Extremist Materials included Dmitro Korchinsky’s “Printed Works ‘Viyna u NATO’” [“War in the Crowd”], which was banned in 2013 by the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow (Item No. 2089).