Translated material
"This country is just over for me"
Student from Barnaul Daniil Markin is 19 years old. For more than a year now he has been living under the press: he was charged under Article 282 of the Criminal Code "Excitement of hostility or hatred." The criminal case was made because of the pictures that he saw on the social network VKontakte and simply copied to his album.
Daniel found out that he came into the view of the Investigative Committee and Department of “E” when they came to him with a search.
- This happened on July 25 last year. I woke up on Friday at 5:56 am from the doorbell. These were the police who said: "We have a warrant. You are suspected of such a criminal case. We will now check your house. Show us where your computer technique lies." They showed me some protocol, I don’t even know what it is called. I just saw my name and IT page VKontakte, but I did not see anything else there. I had no idea that the police were doing at my place, why do they need to search my house at home.
I waited for me to tell me that this is all some kind of mistake
- How old were you at that time?
“Then I have been about 18 years old for six months.”
-You did not try to call someone, consult, how to be in this situation?
- No. First of all, when they came to me, they seized my phone and got a SIM card. But I did not have the slightest experience in criminal cases. I had no idea what I can do, what I can’t do. I had the deepest misunderstanding. I waited until they tell me that this is all some kind of mistake, that they confused me with someone. I consider myself an absolutely law -abiding citizen, that is, I have never had any problems with the police, no articles.
I open the door, they give the order for the search, and then the anthem of Russia played
- How did they communicate, with what intonation?
- Cold, as officially as possible. The fact is that I lived and live now in my grandmother’s apartment. It is periodically here. She is a believer, a poet in my house has icons. When they saw them, they immediately said: "You have icons here." Not that they were surprised, but attached some meaning to this. I didn't understand why. By the way, almost immediately, as they entered, the anthem of Russia began to play on the radio, it was 6 in the morning. I open the door, they give a search warrant, and here the anthem of Russia began to play. They somehow joked, but I don’t remember, I didn’t even hear. I was not in shock, I just didn’t really understand what was happening. But I was not scared. As it turned out, at the same minute, at the same time approximately, with a search came to my parents. When the police said that I was a suspect and I need to search, my mother fainted.
When they went into the house and saw two old non-working printer near the computer, they asked my parents first of all if I were printing any materials on them, if I were engaged in printing here. Then the operatives took the old camera, on which their parents shot the video before, she no longer works. They began to play, lead at each other, look through it. Those that I had became interested in my collection of prefabricated tanks models: "Oh, what do you have, tanks stand?" And they began to consider them.
- What else did they consider, where did they look?
You have time to brush your teeth, wash. We are waiting for you on the street
- I, like my parents, took a search extremely superficially. They went and did not even notice that I had some flash drives. They just looked on the shelves, saw a computer, and all, even the boxes practically did not open. Two system units were seized at my place, one laptop, two Wi-Fi-rutters, a couple of flash drives and all. The parents took their laptop and a portable hard drive.
- And then what happened? They said: "Get ready, go with us"?
-In my opinion, they asked me to pour them water or tea. They said: "You have time to brush your teeth, wash yourself. We are waiting for you on the street in the car." After the removal of equipment, drawing up the protocol, I was taken to the "E" department. Only there they showed me a few first images behind the working computer, because of which they, as it were, are accused, suspect. These were images, the preservation of which dates from 2013, when I have not yet been reached, for which it can be involved in this article. A little later, the rest of the preserved pictures have already been demonstrated in all protocols. Among more than a thousand images on my page, they found pieces of 9-10 extremist - that is, about one percent.
- And what kind of images were these?
- I would call it a satire, which is religious. One of them is an image from the “Game of Thrones” with the signature “John Snow really risen” - “truly”. Then I still had an image of an old fresco, icon, I don’t know what it was, where just some character slapped Merlin Monroe, if I am not mistaken. The rest are about the same. There is some kind of icon, which, as I was told, is disfigured. I did not even know that it was an icon. I told them all that we have no single register of extremist materials in which I could track the images that I want to save. To know for sure that it is illegal. I would find them there and would not save them.
- And what did they answer this?
- They said: "It doesn’t matter. There is no need to do nonsense on the Internet." They were extremely serious about this. None of them use social networks, none of them represent what the value of the preserved photographs. I have it just like an old Chulan, in which there are old images that I, for one reason or another, decided to add myself, I just forget about most of them.
- Probably, like most people who use social networks. Basically, these pictures were borrowed from some groups, the publics to which you are signed, from friends?
-Some I just saw some groups on the covers of albums. Some of them, I remember, were from the "tape", probably even more than half of the "ribbon".
I was not explained absolutely no rights. Everything that was told to me: do not turn her back
- But “tapes” is legal, not forbidden public, quite popular ...
- Yes. And this is the most interesting. They didn’t even ask me where in which groups I found them. They were not even interested in it.
- When you arrived at the "E" department, have you yet notified anyone about what was happening, including parents? Nobody told you that, in principle, do you have the right to call a lawyer and answer questions only in his presence?
- I was not explained absolutely no rights. All that was told to me: do not turn her back, do not say that you did not understand something there, that it was a long time, that you forgot, did not know. I was told that "we already have everything for you in order to find the guilty." And in the same place, in the "E" department, they told me that my parents now also have a search. I was very surprised. With my parents I saw only in the investigation department. They were told where they would take me. That's all.
- How did you react to the fact that you are ready to find you guilty?
- I hoped that everything would form in the future, and these people would understand, maybe they would say that it was ...
They told me to agree to everything that he tells me. Say what I did, I remember that, everything is so
- Nevertheless, you were taken from the "E" department to the Investigative Committee ...
- Yes, in the "E" department, they conducted a preventive conversation of the opera. Before taking me to a conversation to the investigator, they told me how I should answer him, and only after that they took to the investigator. They told me to agree to everything that he tells me. To say what I did, I remember that, everything is so.
“And they somehow explained why you should say that?”
- So that I get no worse. To assist the investigation to soften the sentence. I agreed with them, said - yes, yes, of course. And I was taken to the investigation department in the Zheleznodorozhny district. An investigator was already sitting there, who, incidentally, was present during the search. He personally saw all these grandmother's icons that I have, and reminded me of them, saying: "Here, you have a grandparents religious people, you have the icons at home. And you are defiling all this. We must plant you." Something like this. I don’t remember all the details, but he never answered me in exactly how I desecrate the views of my relatives or any other related to religion. I still did not understand what he had in mind, and simply said nothing.
- How did the investigator communicate with you?
- There was no pressure and screams, but he was clearly angry at me. This was manifested in the absolutely official severity of communication. He constantly tried to catch me on hatred of religion, to icons.
“Have you tried to convince him?” To enter into a discussion?
- A couple of times, of course, I tried to talk with his adequate side, but he apparently led my business for too long, and he got the impression that if a person has such pictures, then he is already sitting at home and gathering a bomb underground to go near the mosque. They had such an attitude towards me.
He considered me a criminal and was probably hatred for me
They tried to knock me out of me ... Well, how to knock out ... Roughly speaking, getting testimonies that all these pictures that were preserved, I deliberately retained. That I knew that this is inciting hatred, an insult to the feelings of believers. They wanted me to simply admit my guilt in this that it was so. Naturally, I did not agree with this. I said that at that time I did not even realize what I did. I did not know that this could be a crime. If there are victims of religious people, then I am ready to apologize to them. He was very reluctant to write it all into the protocol. I said that I did not want to insult anyone, I did not want to break anything. He sat, looked at the monitor, there was a feeling that he was thinking to ask how to write it down differently.
- Do you think he sincerely considered you guilty, deserving of a criminal case? Or is he, more likely, just purely formally performed his official duties?
- I think he did all this with interest. Yes, he considered me a criminal and probably experienced hatred for me. He practically did not consider me a man. He did not delve into any details that I tried to convey to him. He did not conduct my business for long, in my opinion, for two months or even less. During these two months, I met with him later only two times, in my opinion, and that’s all. Then the investigator changed. And now he already seemed to be a good person, that is, this was no longer repeated. It seemed to me that he sympathized with me. After my case was transferred to court recently, he sincerely wished me good luck.
- And what kind of girls wrote a statement to you?
- As it turned out, these two girls lived together in a hostel and studied at the operatives. And, as I learned from a conversation with Maria Matuznaya (a resident of Barnaul, who was accused of extremism and insulting the feelings of believers because of the pictures in VKontakte.-S.R.), they also wrote a statement to her.
- What was in these statements?
- I was told that they were transmitted orally, that is, as if active citizens came and simply complained. And when we at the last court hearing asked them in detail about this, they did not say a single intelligible word. They did not call where they came specifically when it was and to whom they all said it. The judge told them that they would no longer cooperate with the police as part of such cases as witnesses. They just silently nodded and left the courtroom. They were taken to clean water.
- Why did you just decide to tell about this now?
- Because we had such a tactic with a lawyer. My lawyer has not seen any benefit in this. He said that he did not know a single business that publicity would somehow help.
Now, it seems to me that I have lost any hope for a bright future in this country
- Now why did you change your mind?
- Now I saw what a stir is rising around this topic with such an infinite simply repressive movement in the country that it seems to me that it is simply impossible to be silent about this.
- When will the next court session be?
- August 7. But the sentence will not be very soon. According to the lawyer, some kind of fine will be assigned, perhaps forced labor. The worst, probably a conditional term.
- What conclusions did you make for yourself from this story - about yourself, about the country, about the city?
-Before the initiation of a criminal case, I periodically visited the opposition rallies somehow, tried to cover the regional problems on my VKontakte page. But now, it seems to me that I have lost any hope for a bright future in this country. This country was just over for me. Here I am already everything, just an undesirable citizen, I think.
- But in general, do you see your future in Russia?
- No. In this country, my future can end only with a prison grate. If this happened once, then who said that this would not happen twice?
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