The ECHR communicated the complaint of Rafis Kashapov

The Strasbourg court is interested in whether the right of an activist of the Tatar national movement to freedom of speech and personal integrity has been violated.

On January 12, 2018, it became known that the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) communicated the complaint of the chairman of the Tatar Public Center, Rafis Kashapov, against his sentence regarding the application of Art. 280.1 of the Criminal Code (public calls for the implementation of actions aimed at violating the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation).

Kashapov stated in the complaint that the sentence violated his right to freedom of expression (Article 10 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms): the courts unjustifiably expanded the interpretation of Art. 280.1 of the Criminal Code, equating to separatism the statement that " the territory of Crimea was annexed illegally ." In addition, Kashapov considered that his right to freedom and personal integrity (Article 10 of the Convention) had been violated, since the real term of imprisonment in this case is an excessive punishment. This is the first known complaint to the ECtHR related to the application of Art. 280.1 of the Criminal Code.

In connection with the Kashapov case, the ECtHR posed the following questions to the Russian authorities: whether there were good reasons for pre-trial detention of the accused, whether his right to liberty and security of person was violated, whether the sentence was an interference with Kashapov’s right to freedom of expression, and if yes, whether the interference was justified, prescribed by law, pursued a legitimate aim and whether it was necessary in a democratic society. Russia must answer the questions of the Strasbourg Court by May 4, 2018.

Recall that Kashapov was accused of publishing six articles in open access on his page on the VKontakte social network under his own name and on behalf of his brother Nafis Kashapov: "Crimea and Ukraine will be free from invaders!" , "Yesterday Hitler and Danzig, today Putin and Donetsk!", "Let's protect Ukraine and the entire Turkic world", "Where Russia is, there are tears and death", "The Turks need a rapid response center!", "I appeal to the citizens of the Turkic world". Naberezhnye Chelny City Court in September 2015 sentenced him to three years in a penal colony under Part 1 of Art. 282 of the Criminal Code (inciting hatred or enmity) and Part 2 of Art. 280.1 of the Criminal Code, the Supreme Court of Tatarstan in November 2015 approved the verdict. Rafis Kashapov was released from the colony after serving his sentence on December 27, 2017.

In our opinion, the sentence handed down to Kashapov is unjustified. We had the opportunity to familiarize ourselves with the indicated articles and did not find in them corpus delicti under Art. 280.1 of the Criminal Code. Persecution for expressing one's own opinion and norms of international law is a violation of freedom of speech. We also believe that in the materials for which Kashapov was convicted, there are no signs of inciting hatred on ethnic grounds. We did not find any calls for military action in them either. As for criticism of the Russian authorities, according to the explanation of the Supreme Court regarding the practice of applying anti-extremist legislation, it should not be considered as inciting hatred and be prosecuted under Art. 282 of the Criminal Code.

Brothers Rafis and Nafis Kashapovs are prominent activists of the Tatar national movement. Nafis emigrated from Russia in 2005, one of his texts was blocked for Russian users under Lugovoi's law. Rafis lived in Naberezhnye Chelny. In 2009, he was convicted under Part 1 of Art. 282 of the Criminal Code for publishing on his blog several texts against forced Russification and Christianization, as well as one inflammatory text by Chechen armed separatists. All these materials were recognized as extremist.

Sources

• The ECHR communicated the complaint of Rafis Kashapov, the leader of the Chelny VTOC, convicted for posts about Crimea, on VKontakte // Agora International Human Rights Group. 2018. January 12.