The Investigative Committee detained the administrator of one of the “death groups” in the Moscow region

The administrator of one of the “death groups” on VKontakte was detained in the Moscow region, TASS reports . According to preliminary investigation data, more than 20 teenagers suffered from the group’s actions.

Information about the detention of the administrator was confirmed by... O. Svetlana Petrenko, head of the department for interaction with the media of the RF IC. The administrator of one of the “death groups” was detained in the Moscow region on November 15.

The operation was attended by investigators from the Russian Investigative Committee, employees of the central office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB. “Soon the investigation will petition the court for his arrest,” Petrenko noted, adding that a series of searches are currently taking place in 10 regions of Russia .

According to Life, the detainee was Internet activist Philip Budeikin, known under the pseudonym “Philip Lis.” He is considered the administrator of a network of F57 communities that have become known in the media as so-called “death groups.”

The representative of the Investigative Committee recalled that investigators from the St. Petersburg department began checking communities in May, after a series of publications in the media about closed “death groups.” Based on the results of the inspection, a criminal case was opened under Part 4 of Article 33 and Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for incitement to suicide.

“The investigation has evidence that from December 2013 to May 2016, the attackers created eight virtual communities on the VKontakte network, where they openly promoted suicide and persuaded minor users to commit suicide,” said Svetlana Petrenko. “As investigators found, access to these groups was strictly limited and, similar to membership in a closed club, was at the discretion of the community administrator.”

The Investigative Committee confirmed media reports that community members are undergoing tests and tasks related to the topics of death, suicide and self-harm. Investigators in St. Petersburg found that 15 teenagers who were members of death groups committed suicide in different regions of Russia, and five more minors were preparing to commit suicide.

The Investigative Committee stated that it would take comprehensive measures to prevent such facts. A set of precautionary and prophylactic measures is being developed to protect minors from criminal influence, including the introduction of criminal liability for incitement to suicide, a representative of the department noted.

In May, in the Omsk region, the Investigative Committee named 13-year-old schoolgirl Alina K. as the administrator of the “death groups,” who allegedly published information encouraging teenagers to commit suicide under the pseudonym “Eva Reich.” Investigators, having interrogated the schoolgirl, said that they were looking for the people who directed her.