Political strategist from Irkutsk sent under arrest for displaying Nazi symbols

The reason was a post criticizing the Russian police.

On November 26, 2019, the Sverdlovsk District Court of Irkutsk ordered two days of administrative arrest under Part 1 of Art. 20.3 of the Administrative Code (propaganda or public display of Nazi paraphernalia or symbols) to political strategist and public figure Igor Madasov.

The reason was Madasov’s publication on the social network Facebook with the image of two badges - the patrol service of the Russian police and the financial department of the Third Reich (with an eagle holding a Nazi swastika). The image was accompanied by the caption: “POLICE everything is new - well forgotten old.”

In our opinion, Madasov was punished without proper grounds, since the demonstration of Nazi symbols in this case was obviously aimed at criticizing the Russian police, and not at promoting Nazism.

From our point of view, punishment for displaying Nazi symbols should only be punished if it is aimed at promoting the corresponding ideology, but at the moment Art. 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses punishes any demonstration of Nazi symbols, regardless of the context.

Sources

• In Irkutsk, a political strategist accused of publishing a swastika was arrested for two days // Rosbalt. 2019. November 26.
• Maxim Bakulev. A well-known Irkutsk social activist was held accountable for a lost password // Babr24. 2019. November 26.