The ECHR communicated the complaint of Alexander Byvshev

The European Court asked whether the right of the poet from Krom to freedom of expression had been violated and whether the restriction of his property rights was justified.

26 September 2017 European Court of Human Rights communicated the complaint in the case of Alexander Byvshev.

Recall 13 July 2015 Byvshev was sentenced by Kromsky district court of the Orel region for the publication of the poem "Ukrainian patriots" under part 1 of article 282 of the Criminal Code to 300 hours of compulsory work with a ban on profession (teaching at school) for two years and confiscation of the laptop. 26 August 2015, the sentence was confirmed by the Oryol Regional Court and later entered into force. Byvshev was included in the "list Rosfinmonitoring", and his account was blocked, to which he receives allowance as a resident of the zone contaminated as a result of the Chernobyl disaster.

Reason for persecution was the fact that in the spring of 2014 Byvshev posted on his page on the social network "VKontakte" poem own composition called "Ukrainian patriots", written in the wake of the events in the Crimea. Its content boils down to call on Ukrainians to meet the "Moskal gang" that came to their land with weapons in hand. Kromskoy District Court twice recognized the poem extremist: the first decision was made on May 16, 2014, it was challenged and reissued on October 3, 2014. In November 2014, Kromsky's decision court confirmed Orlovsky regional court. In addition, a second criminal case was initiated against Byvshev. case on the publication of another poem.

From our point of view, hostile the feelings of the author of the poem were not due to ethnicity a certain group, but by the nature of its activity and, thus, the actions incriminated to Byvshev could not be qualified under Art. 282 of the Criminal Code. We believe that the court should have taken into account the acute political context: Ukrainian crisis provokes many to extreme statements that are not typical for them at other times.

In connection with Byvshev's complaint, the ECtHR put before the Russian the following questions by the authorities: did the persecution of the poet and imposed on it sanctions Article 10 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, guaranteeing the right to freedom of expression, whether there was an interference with the exercise of this right is in this case "necessary in a democratic society", could the publication of the poem, given the relevant political context be seen as a direct or indirect call to violence or justification of violence, hatred or intolerance against an ethnic group, whether the publication of the poem could lead to harmful consequences and whether it was properly domestic courts justified the interference with the right to liberty expressions of opinion. In addition, the ECtHR asked if the arrest of accounts violates Byvsheva st. 1 of the Convention guaranteeing the protection of property, and whether these actions were carried out in the public interest and in accordance with international legal principles.

Sources

• Application no 25309/15 Aleksandr Mikhaylovich BYVSHEV against Russia lodged on 12 May 2015 // European Court of Human Rights. 2017. October.