The court in Naberezhnye Chelny recognized the movement of football fans Autograd Crew as extremist

The Naberezhnye Chelny City Court recognized the movement of fans of the Kamaz football club Autograd Crew as extremist, according to the court’s website.

A lawsuit demanding a ban on the movement's activities was filed by Tatarstan prosecutor Ildus Nafikov. Representatives of Autograd Crew did not come to court, saying that the verdict was known in advance and they would not be able to influence it in any way, reports Business Online . The defendant in the lawsuit was 31-year-old Maxim Dushin, who is considered the informal leader of the fans’ association, but he also did not appear at the meeting.

The case file states that Autograd Crew has existed since 2008. According to the publication, it was organized by supporters of right-wing ideology from the CGF movement , who were called “guards.” Security officials believe that there are about 20 active participants in the fans’ association, and the movement has a total of 200 local residents.

“Activists are prone to disturbing public order, are involved in writing extremist inscriptions, setting fires in the fan sector, participate in fights (fixed fights) against football fans from other regions of Russia, and instill nationalist views among fans. At matches, repeated use of the imperial flag and the slogan “Russians, forward!”, used by the nationalist movements of Russian youth at the “Russian Marches,” was recorded,” judge Gulnara Valiullina read out the case materials.

According to Business Online, over the past eight years, activists of the movement have been accused of hooliganism (Article 213 of the Criminal Code), intentionally causing minor harm to health (Article 115 of the Criminal Code), beatings (Article 116 of the Criminal Code), violation of the inviolability of the home (Article 139 of the Criminal Code) and agitation hatred (Article 282 of the Criminal Code). Also, 21 fans were convicted under an administrative article for promoting Nazi symbols (Article 20.3 of the Administrative Code).

“Recognizing Autograd Crew as an extremist organization is nothing more than an attempt by the authorities to nip in the bud any active support for FC KAMAZ,” insists a representative of the movement. Other members of the association also claim that the organization has nothing to do with promoting violence or extremism.

In August 2018, the Ministry of Justice added the Tatarstan association of football fans “Sector 16” to the list of prohibited non-profit organizations (NPOs). The court found that the participants in the movement adhered to “right-wing radical nationalist views.”