IGPR "ZOV" activist Barabash detained

On December 17, 2015, in Moscow, after interrogation, IGPR “ZOV” activist Kirill Barabash was detained and placed in a detention center. On December 18, 2015, it became known that Barabash was arrested in the case of continuing the activities of the banned organization “People's Will Army”. On December 29, the Memorial Human Rights Center recognized him as a political prisoner.

On December 17, 2015, after interrogation, Kirill Barabash, an activist of the Initiative Group for a Referendum “For Responsible Power” (IGPR “ZOV”), was detained. He was placed in a temporary detention center on Petrovka in Moscow. The day before Barabash's arrest, a search was carried out in his apartment. The media interpreted the message from Barabash’s wife differently that he had been charged; it was unclear whether it was about inciting hatred (Article 282 of the Criminal Code) or rather about the continuation of the activities of an organization banned for extremism (Article 282.2 of the Criminal Code). But already on December 18, 2015, it became known that Barabash, by decision of the Khamovnichesky Court of Moscow, was arrested as a defendant under Part 1 of Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code as part of a criminal investigation into the organization of the activities of the Army of the People's Will (AVN), banned for extremism.

Yuri Mukhin, Alexander Sokolov and Valery Parfenov, and now Kirill Barabash are accused of having recreated the AVN under a new name, but with the same goals and objectives - to create initiative groups for holding a referendum " with the aim of amending the Constitution of the Russian Federation on the responsibility of the highest authorities before the people " and promote the idea of ​​" adopting the law "On the assessment of the activities of the President and members of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation by the people of Russia ", while realizing that the true goal is to " shake" the political situation in the Russian Federation towards instability, as well as change existing power through illegal means ."

On December 29, 2015, the Memorial Human Rights Center recognized Barabash as a political prisoner. Mukhin, Sokolov and Parfenov were recognized as political prisoners in November.

In October 2015, Barabash was sentenced under Art. 282 of the Criminal Code (incitement of hatred against a social group of government officials and humiliation of law enforcement officers) for public statements made in 2013. We do not consider government officials or law enforcement agencies to be vulnerable groups requiring protection in the form of Art. 282 of the Criminal Code, however, in Barabash’s statements one could detect the composition of Art. 280 (public calls for extremist activities), since he called for violence against officials and law enforcement officials.

We also believe that the ban on AVN, an organization of Stalinist-nationalist leanings, repeatedly seen in xenophobic propaganda, was unlawful, since the decision to recognize the movement as extremist was based only on the ban on the leaflet “You chose, you judge!”, which seems to us unfounded.

Sources

• “ZOV” activist Kirill Barabash was detained after interrogation by the Investigative Committee // Mediazona. 2015. December 17.
• Hunchback V. Urgently! Kirill Barabash: new search // Website of the IGPR "For Responsible Power". 2015. December 16-17.
• Another person involved in the case of journalist Sokolov // Interfax. 2015. December 17.
• A court in Moscow arrested a defendant in the case against an RBC journalist // RAPSI. 2015. December 18.
• “Memorial” considers Kirill Barabash, a member of the IGPR “ZOV”, to be a political prisoner // Human Rights Center “Memorial”. 2015. December 30.