Two years for the "ruling regime"

The next real term was given in St. Petersburg to the activist for the VKontakte post with criticizing the system established by Putin. Sentences for sayings on the Internet are calculated by hundreds, and there are more and more of them

Photo: Profi-news.ru

VKontakte with the system

Two short paragraphs-about a people who think not by their heads, but about the friendship of the Slavic peoples, about the ruling “Putin regime” and “repressive-penal organs”-cost a 44-year-old native of Kislovodsk Vladimir Tymoshenko Freedom. At the end of November, he received two years in a maximum security colony. In the expert opinion, on an order of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for St. Petersburg, the Center for Expertise of the State University, these phrases-“ruling regime”, “repressive-penal organs”-are distinguished by fat font and appear as evidence of malicious intent and extremist intentions of the author of the text. And it was for these words that he was sent to the colony.

The processes of this type, when people are planted for critical, sharp posts in social networks, for unpleasant statements to the Russian government, the leader of the state, sharply become more frequent, says Alexander Verkhovsky, director of the Siva Information and Analytical Center, and a member of the Presidential Council for Human Rights. According to the estimates of Owl experts, from 85% to 90% of these statements occur on the Internet, of which almost 90% on social networks, and for the most part - on VKontakte.

“Last year, about 600 people were convicted of such statements. This is a huge increase over the past two and a half years, ”says Verkhovsky. “This year, more than 270 people have already been convicted in the first half of the year.”

Deadline without a deadline

Vladimir Tymoshenko is by no means an angel, he never hid his extremely nationalist views. And he had already managed to sit out a decent period: at first in 2010, the Novgorod Regional Court sentenced him to 5.5 years for illegal production, storage, transportation of weapons and preparation for the terrorist attack, then - the Kislovodsk city court added another 7.5 years in approximately the same articles.

Shortly before the end of the deadline, he dictated by the phone to his good acquaintance, Petersburzhenka Anna Shilova, two paragraphs of the text, which were placed under the nickname Leonid Timo in the Slavic force-Nord-west Petersburg community VKontakte social networks.

The text has reasoning that "most citizens of Russia thinks not by the head, but by the TV," that we must "be proud of the brotherhood of the Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian peoples." There are phrases about “inciting the massacre in Ukraine” (however, the text does not say about who and for what purposes it brings it up), about a certain “our struggle” (but who are “ours” are also not specified), there is the phrase “anti-people's regime of Putin” and “punitive-consuming apparatus” (also without clarification of institutions or personalities).

On all summons, he conscientiously appeared to the police, did not hide from the authorities. But just a few weeks later, when Tymoshenko appeared at the request of the police for the next meeting, he was arrested and detained

Tymoshenko left the colony at the end of 2016 and went to Petersburg to Shilova, with whom he soon made a marriage. On all summons, he conscientiously appeared to the police, did not hide from the authorities. But just a few weeks later, when Tymoshenko appeared at the request of the police for the next meeting, he was arrested and detained. In the last days of November, the judge of the Krasnogvardeisky District Court of St. Petersburg Andrei Yuryev sentenced him to two years in a maximum security colony under Art. 282 h. 1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "The excitement of hatred or enmity, as well as the humiliation of human dignity." Law enforcement agencies and officials as representatives of some “social groups” are indicated as the subject of this enmity and hatred.

Two linguists and psychologist

Tymoshenko’s prosecution was based on an examination, made by the Center for Expertise of the St. Petersburg State University. The conclusion was performed by two professors of the Faculty of Journalism of the Higher School of Journalism and Mass Communications of St. Petersburg State University - Galina Melnik, Doctor of Political Science, and Boris Misonznikov, Doctor of Philology. The third author is a candidate of psychology, associate professor of the Department of Political Psychology of St. Petersburg State University Olga Sveshnikova.

In his linguistic study, the targets and miller immediately declare that "the author <...> constructs the image of the enemy - the anti -people regime of Putin and his power support (meaning law enforcement agencies)."

In addition to this phrase, they analyze the text of some notebooks seized from Tymoshenko during searches. In them, he, indeed, in a very harsh form criticizes the current policy of the country's leadership. Misonznikov and Melnik conclude that "notebooks are a software and constructive document for participants in protest movements." But judging by the case file, Tymoshenko wrote these notebooks for himself and showed anyone else.

The psychologist concluded that “speech aggression is manifested in the use of a label (“ mode ”), as well as in the expression“ whip of the regime ”. On this basis, Sveshnikov concludes that the text from the Internet is “semantically focused on the excitement of enmity and hatred of a certain social group

Psychologist Olga Sveshnikova went even further in her study. She accused Tymoshenko of determining the “power punitive-consuming apparatus”, as ensuring the safety of “existing power”. And she stated that “speech aggression is manifested in the use of a label (“ mode ”), as well as in the expression“ whip of the regime ”. On this basis, Sveshnikov concludes that the text from the Internet is “semantically focused on the initiation of hostility and hatred of a very specific social group, represented by employees of institutions and institutions of state power”.

If for Ukraine, then the enemy

“Tymoshenko-of those unfortunate Russian nationalists who would have been for Russia for Ukraine, he would not have been touched,” Dmitry Dubrovsky, candidate of historical sciences, researcher at the Center for Independent Sociological Research (St. Petersburg). At the request of Vitaly Cherkasov, lawyer Tymoshenko, Dubrovsky wrote a review of the expert opinion of the employees of St. Petersburg State University. But the court did not consider it: the prosecutor said that the Center for Independent Studies where Dubrovsky is operating is a “foreign agent”, therefore it cannot give expert assessments.

In his review, Dubrovsky pointed out the full professional failure of the university examination. “The authors of this so -called examination say that in the text of Tymoshenko there are many sharp expressions to the authorities, and this is the language of enmity! - Dubrovsky is indignant. - They seriously believe that extremism is disagreement with the opinion of the authorities, expressed in a sharp form! Professors say that officials, representatives of the authorities and law enforcement agencies make up the “social group”, and refer to the methodology of the federal center of forensic examination - but it says in black and white that the police, power, officials are not a social group! ”

The court did not consider the review: the prosecutor stated that the Center for Independent Studies is a “foreign agent”, therefore it cannot give expert assessments

“We asked Mr. Misonzhnikov in court - what phrases does Tymoshenko demonstrate extremism? And Misonzhnikov repeated everything - “regime”, “punitive organs,” said Cherkasov’s lawyer. - He was even distorted from the word “regime” - what regime, he was indignant, we live in the most liberal time! To my question - where is the phrase that humiliates the human dignity of officials? - Mr. Misonzhnikov replied: "The people think not with their heads, but by a television." I tell him - well, here about the people, where are the officials? He is completely confused. "

Strasbourg is not a decree

The lawyer concludes that experts of St. Petersburg State University did not get acquainted with one of the latest decisions of the ECHR, which is most directly related to the condemnation of Tymoshenko, with the Dmitrievsky case against Russia. The European Court of Human Rights satisfied the lawsuit of the Russian journalist and human rights activist Stanislav Dmitrievsky and ordered Russia to pay him compensation in the amount of € 13.6 thousand. This decision was the first in the ECHR in criminal cases of extremism from Russia. But obviously - not the last.

In his decision, the ECHR, in particular, indicated that Russian judges do not read the original texts, but proceed from what was written in the examination. The ECHR also noted that experts allow themselves to engage in legal qualifications of the text, replacing the court.