The SOVA Center presented reports on countering incitement to hatred and unlawful anti-extremism in 2019

On February 27, 2020, in Moscow, at the press center of the Rosbalt agency, the SOVA Information and Analytical Center held a presentation of two reports: “Without the usual article. Countering the incitement of hatred and nationalist activity” and “Illegal application of anti-extremist legislation.”

The presentation was attended by:

• Natalia Yudina , head of the section “Russian nationalism and xenophobia”, author of the first report;

• Maria Kravchenko , head of the “Unlawful Anti-Extremism” section, author of the second report;

• Alexander Verkhovsky , director of the SOVA Center.

Natalia Yudina noted that in 2019, the number of sentences for speech decreased by at least half. Punishments in criminal cases for statements are predominantly not associated with imprisonment, but several people are known to have been sentenced to imprisonment “just for words”; and the share of these is growing. The new article on incitement to hatred, which appeared in the administrative code, is being applied more and more widely, but has not yet reached the scale of the former application of Art. 282 of the Criminal Code. And the number of criminal and administrative court decisions on “incitement of hatred” in 2019 generally decreased. The growth of administrative penalties under anti-extremist articles of the Code of Administrative Offenses as a whole has sharply accelerated. The growth of the Federal List of Extremist Materials slowed down in 2019, but the registries of Internet blocking are becoming monstrous. Extrajudicial blockings are opaque both in procedure and results.

Maria Kravchenko presented an analytical review of anti-extremist legislation and its unlawful application in Russia in 2019. The trend that emerged a year earlier to eliminate the shortcomings of anti-extremist legislation did not develop in 2019: the initiatives proposed in 2018 were implemented, but no new steps were taken along this path. In the past year, the previous ones were tightened and new restrictive norms were introduced - both curtailing the rights of “those involved in extremist and terrorist activities” and introducing new measures to control activity on the Internet. If we talk about law enforcement statistics, the expert notes the cancellation of a number of previously passed sentences under Part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code and the termination of criminal prosecution in cases that were not considered by the court at the time of decriminalization. With a general decrease in the number of criminal prosecutions under articles on “extremist statements,” the share of wrongful convictions from the total number of sentences under criminal articles on extremist statements remained the same as in recent years. The policy towards religious minorities, as noted in the report, has generally remained the same: the authorities actively suppress the activities of religious organizations and movements of foreign origin that are considered undesirable. Mass persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses who continued their religious practice after their communities in Russia were declared extremist was gaining momentum. The scope of persecution of supporters of the Islamic radical party Hizb ut-Tahrir, who received huge prison sentences only on the basis of their alleged affiliation with an organization that was mistakenly recognized as terrorist in Russia, did not decrease in 2019.

Alexander Verkhovsky , summing up the speeches, noted that despite the reduction in criminal cases for statements, the percentage of wrongful convictions remains approximately the same. And the number of sentences for participation in extremist and terrorist communities increased by about 10%. According to the director of Sova, several years ago a course was taken to diversify anti-extremist policy and what is considered prevention.

The full texts of the reports can be found on our website:

Without the usual article: The state against inciting hatred and political activity of nationalists in Russia in 2019

Unlawful application of anti-extremist legislation in Russia in 2019

Sources

• Reviews in the press:
• “Sova”: it is often unknown what those imprisoned for extremism published // Roskomvoboda. 2020. February 28.
• Pshenichny Oleg. From “Jehovah’s Witnesses” to the waltz “Amur Waves”: in a year Roskomnadzor blocked twice as many addresses - about 100,000 // Insider. 2020. February 28.
• Semenets Anna. Victims of justice // Rosbalt. 2020. February 28.
• Human rights activists recorded an increase in administrative penalties under “anti-extremist” articles in 2019 // TK Dozhd. 2020. February 27.
• SOVA Center: Russia’s anti-extremist policy violates fundamental human rights // Such matters. 2020. February 27.
• Security forces conducted 489 searches at Jehovah's Witnesses in 2019 // Mediazona. 2020. February 27.
• Experts have recorded the strengthening of the role of the FSB in cases of extremism // RBC. 2020. February 27.
• Report of the SOVA Center: The participation of the FSB in cases of extremism is expanding // Ekho Moskvy. 2020. February 27.
• Experts have noticed the strengthening of the role of the FSB in cases of extremism // Piter.tv. 2020. February 27.
• Experts announced the growing role of the FSB in cases of extremism // Pravo.ru. 2020. February 27.
• Russians are more often imprisoned for their words // News.ru. 2020. February 27.
• In Russia, people are more often imprisoned “just for words” // Lenta.ru. 2020. February 27.
• In Russia, people are more often imprisoned “just for words” // 47-region.ru. 2020. February 27.
• "Owl": in 2019, Jehovah's Witnesses underwent 489 searches // Radio Liberty. 2020. February 27.
• In Russia, the role of the FSB in cases of extremism is growing // LIVE24. 2020. February 28.
• There is no article, but people are there // Kommersant. 2020. February 28.