Perm: verdict in the case of the “Perm Nazi team”

In August 2019, a sentence was handed down in Perm against members of the Perm Nazi Team group, who were found guilty of setting fire to the building where the public reception room of United Russia was located, applying graffiti and creating an extremist organization.

In August 2019, the Leninsky District Court of Perm issued a verdict in a case against members of the far-right PNZS group (deciphered in official documents as the “Perm Nazi Team” (probably Perm Nazi Squad)).

Recall that in the dock were 20-year-old Dmitry Strelkov (Ryzhiy), 24-year-old Anton Zyryanov, 20-year-old Alexander Ankudinov and 20-year-old Nikita Yushkov.

According to the case file, the group was created in May-June 2017 by Strelkov, who attracted 8 more people to it. In addition to those listed above, it was reported that several other young people were involved in the PNZS case: Alexander Sobolev, Ruslan Masagutov and Daniil Karelin. According to media reports, they testified against the others and remained in the status of witnesses. The case of two minors (Nikita Rasputin and Vladislav Prokopishin) was separated into a separate proceeding. In July 2019, the Leninsky District Court of Perm issued a verdict on him .

According to investigators, PNZS members coordinated their actions in Telegram chats. On July 22, 2017, they committed several acts of ideological vandalism: Strelkov spray-painted the slogan “Death to the system, fight and destroy” on the wall of the prosecutor’s office of the Perm Territory, and Daniil Karelin and Ruslan Masagutov wrote “Take a knife - politician” and “Kill this lie " respectively. In addition to Strelkov, Karelin and Masagutov, there were two other young people near the prosecutor's office - Nikita Yushkov and Nikita Rasputin, who, apparently, did not participate in the graffiti. Around the same time, another member of the group, Vladislav Prokopishin, first wrote “Garbage f***y” on the fence on Monastyrskaya Street, and then “Gooky f***y” (“gooky” is a disparaging nickname for Asians in American jargon during the Vietnam War) on the fence on Popov Street.

On November 19, 2017, according to the case file, the group set fire to the building where the United Russia public reception was located (the fire was quickly extinguished, no one was hurt). As far as can be understood, Dmitry Strelkov, Anton Zyryanov, Nikita Yushkov and Nikita Rasputin participated in the arson; Alexander Ankudinov filmed the action on his phone. According to media reports, by mistake, young people set fire not to the reception room itself, but to the State Institute for the Development of Education of the Perm Territory located in the same building.

On November 23, 2017, Strelkov was detained, and the next day, Yushkov and Ankudinov. Strelkov was charged under Part 1 of Art. 280 of the Criminal Code (public calls for extremism) for graffiti "Death to the system, fight and destroy." According to the data disseminated by the young man himself, Art. 282.1 of the Criminal Code (creation of an extremist community), paragraph “c” of Part 2 282 of the Criminal Code (incitement of hatred by an organized group) and Part 3 of Art. 30 of the Criminal Code, part 2, art. 167 of the Criminal Code (attempted destruction of another's property by arson).

Other defendants in the case were charged under Part 2 of Art. 282.1 of the Criminal Code (participation in an extremist community), part 3 of Art. 30 of the Criminal Code and part 2 of Art. 167 of the Criminal Code and part 1 of Art. 282 of the Criminal Code (inciting hatred). The last article, we recall, was decriminalized and therefore the charges on it, most likely, were dropped.

During the trial, the young people admitted the facts of graffiti and arson, but denied the existence of an extremist community. They also stated that the operatives obtained their testimonies and testimonies with the help of physical and psychological pressure.

Strelkov and several other defendants were in a pre-trial detention center for 4 months, then their preventive measure was changed to house arrest for 2 months, and later the court released them on a written undertaking to leave.

The court found all four defendants guilty and sentenced:

Strelkov - to 7 years in a general regime colony;

Zyryanova - to 5 years in a strict regime colony;

Ankudinov - to 4 years of imprisonment conditionally;

Yushkov - to 3 years of imprisonment conditionally.

Separately, it is noted that Strelkov and Zyryanov, who were under house arrest, did not come to the announcement of the verdict. The court has yet to comment on this information.

Later, on August 14, information appeared in the media that Ankudinov and Yushkov were "outside Russia." Both young men are wanted.

Sources

• Six Perm residents are accused of creating an extremist community and setting fire to the United Russia office // Star. 2019. July 3.
• "He took a knife - a politician." FSB considers Perm ultra-right "extremist community" because of the inscriptions on the prosecutor's office and the arson of the United Russia window // Mediazone. 2019. July 23.
• One of the defendants in the case of arson in the reception room of Dmitry Medvedev in Perm was sent to a colony // MBKh-media. 2019. July 29.
• The court asked for 9 years for the alleged leader of the "Perm Nazi team" in the case of arson of the office of "United Russia" // Mediazone. 2019. July 30.
• Convicted for arson of Medvedev's office in Perm went on the run // Ura.ru. 2019. August 14.
• Based on ultra-right websites.
• The court announced the verdict for four alleged members of the "Perm Nazi team" // Mediazone. 2019. August 14.