A third criminal case has been initiated against Airat Dilmukhametov

This time, the well-known Bashkir activist is accused of calling for separatism.

March 15, 2019 Kirovsky district the Ufa court sent under arrest until May 6 an activist of the Bashkir national movement of Airat Dilmukhametov on charges of publishing on the Internet calls for violation of the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation (part 2 of article 280.1 of the Criminal Code).

The reason was a video message to the Free Russia Forum, which was held in Vilnius in April 2017. In his appeal, Dilmukhametov stated that he intended run for the presidency of the republic in September 2019 and "definitely wins." After the government came to power of the new Fourth Republic of Bashkortostan" it will also become the "government national salvation", which will invite other regions "to establish new federation from below" on new conditions. National meeting will establish a new federal government, and each of the regions will conclude with him bilateral agreement. However, in case the federal government violate its obligations, Bashkortostan should have the right to leaving the federation.

Dilmukhametov denies the accusations and claims that he is "always on his numerous speeches, articles, interviews emphasized that The Republic of Bashkortostan is not separating anywhere - it proposes a new contractual federation model created from below".

On the eve of Dilmukhametov's arrest, officers of the Federal Security Service for the Republic Bashkortostan conducted searches at his home, his lawyer Vsevolod Lebedintsev and videographer Ilnur Ilyasov. After the searches, all three were interrogated in UFSB. Lebedintsev and Ilyasov, after interrogation, were released on bail. as witnesses in the case.

Recall that in 2011 Airat Dilmukhametov was sentenced under Part 2 Art. 280 of the Criminal Code (calls for extremist activity), part 2 of Art. 205.2 of the Criminal Code (public justification of terrorism) and Part 1 of Art. 282 of the Criminal Code (inciting national and religious hatred) to six years in prison freedom, and in 2015 - to three years in a strict regime colony under Part 2 of Art. 205.2 of the Criminal Code, the term of his last conviction is not yet expired.

In our opinion, the criminal case against Dilmukhametov was illegally initiated. Firstly, his speech is not about secession from Russia, but about renegotiating the federal agreement. Secondly, public discussions on the topic of possible political projects should not be regarded as direct calls to action. Dilmukhametov's plans look more than abstract, he did not propose any concrete steps to implementation of his program and did not call for violent methods of its implementation. From our point of view, only calls for violent separatism may be prohibited in the interests of maintaining security, and the prohibition to any public discussion of a possible territorial (re)organization of Russia unduly restricts the right to freedom of speech. In fact, the current wording Art. 280.1 of the Criminal Code, prohibiting any appeals to separatism, allows prosecution for a discussion on political issues of public interest, so we We are in favor of changing it.

On March 25, the Supreme Court of Bashkortostan rejected the complaint against Dilmukhametov's arrest and left him in custody.

Sources

• Artur Asafiev. "Accused of calling for the creation of a new federation..." // Idel.Realii. 2019. March 18.
• Irina Samoilova. Armed Forces of Bashkiria keep activist Airat Dilmukhametov under arrest // Kommersant-Ufa. March 25, 2019