Students and teachers of Moscow State University submitted signatures to the AP calling for the release of Dmitry Bogatov

A teacher at the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Moscow State University, Mikhail Lobanov, handed over to the Presidential Administration 1,544 signatures from students, graduate students and teachers of Moscow State University demanding the release of 25-year-old mathematician Dmitry Bogatov, accused of publishing mass calls for terrorism. Lobanov himself reported this to Mediazona.

The day before, on July 17, MSU students and staff submitted the same appeal to the office of MSU Rector Viktor Sadovnichy with a request to intervene in the situation with Bogatov. In Bogatov’s support group on VKontakte, it is noted that Sadovnichy is the head of the department of mathematical analysis at the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Moscow State University, from which Bogatov was a graduate.

At the end of June, the Presnensky District Court of Moscow refused to release Bogatov from the pre-trial detention center and extended his arrest until August 31, although Bogatov’s defense presented a letter from the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications, which confirmed that the IP address does not prove that the message was sent by a specific user.

The court was not convinced by the previously presented characteristics of Bogatov from the Debian project, a statement from relatives asking for bail for him, as well as an appeal from the president of the international association of veterans of the Alpha anti-terror unit Sergei Goncharov.

Mathematician Dmitry Bogatov was arrested on April 10, on the third attempt, on charges of preparing to organize mass riots and calls for terrorism (Part 1 of Article 30, Part 1 of Article 212 of the Criminal Code and Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code). The investigation believes that from his IP address, the user “Ayrat Bashirov” posted two messages on the forum calling for a riot during the April 2 protests in Moscow.

The Memorial human rights center recognized Bogatov as a political prisoner. It was supported by Edward Snowden , the developers of the Tor Project and the distribution of the Debian Linux operating system, as well as the human rights organizations Electronic Frontier Foundation and Access Now . “Mediazona” wrote in detail about the charges against Bogatov and about the person who could be behind the publication of the posts imputed to him.