The Investigative Committee examined extremism in likes on social networks

You can get a real term in Russia not only for a post or repost in social networks, but also for accidentally leaving a like on a post. This became clear after a criminal case was opened in the Khabarovsk Territory under Part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (extremism) against a doctor from the city of Sovetskaya Gavan in the Khabarovsk Territory for “class” (similar to a like) in Odnoklassniki.

Details

• As MBKh Media clarifies , in June last year, a doctor, whose name was not named, put a “class” in Odnoklassniki on a picture condemning the participation of Russians in the armed conflict in the Donbass. The lawyer insists that the doctor liked the picture by accident. But the Investigative Committee refused to make this discount: the doctor was detained for 48 hours and now he faces up to 5 years in prison.
• The prosecutor's office has already petitioned for a measure of restraint in the form of detention, but the court found no grounds for this. Now for the accused measure of restraint is not chosen, the prosecutor's office said .
• Sukovaty believes that this wording is a precedent in Russian judicial practice, since earlier charges were brought only because of reposts or self-posting of prohibited materials on social networks.

Context

• However, the head of the Agora International Human Rights Group, Pavel Chikov, does not consider this a precedent, since from the point of view of technology, a like is not much different from a repost. “When you like a post on different social networks, it automatically goes to your friends feed, so from a legal point of view, this is distribution,” he told The Bell. In this sense, likes are not much different from reposts, because of which cases can also be initiated even if the user did not accompany them with a comment.
• But at the same time, in cases of incitement to hatred, law enforcement agencies still try to look for publications that contain text calling for extremism. “I don’t remember a single case when someone was brought to justice without a text, the text must be either oral or written,” says Chikov.
• Last year, were convicted under criminal articles for publishing on the Internet, and 4,046 people were convicted under administrative articles. 465 people

At the end of June, a bill was submitted to the State Duma to abolish criminal liability for reposts on the Internet, but the Supreme Court called it "controversial", noting that the adoption of the bill "will lead to the actual decriminalization of the act provided for by part one of the current article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation", and sent for revision. While the deputies are working, Chikov recommends ordinary users to be more careful. And, if someone is interested in you, you should definitely seek the help of lawyers.