The Investigative Committee dropped the criminal case against a Barnaul resident who published memes about the Patriarch and the Russian Orthodox Church

The Investigative Committee dropped the criminal case against Barnaul resident Andrei Shasherin, who was accused of inciting hatred (Part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code) and insulting the feelings of believers (Part 1 of Article 148 of the Criminal Code) because of memes about the Patriarch and the Russian Orthodox Church, Maria Motuznaya reports on Twitter, who is also accused under Article 282.

Earlier today it became known that Motuznaya was excluded from the list of extremists and terrorists maintained by Rosfinmonitoring. However, her lawyers have not yet been informed about the termination of the case.

against Motuznaya A criminal case was opened in the spring of 2018. She was also accused under Articles 282 and 148 of the Criminal Code. The reason for the case was the pictures that she saved to her VKontakte page in 2015. By the time of the criminal prosecution, Motuznaya no longer used this account.

At the end of 2018, President Vladimir Putin signed a law on the partial decriminalization of Article 282. Now criminal liability for inciting hatred on the Internet and the press will only apply if the violation is committed more than once in a year.