Trial in case of xenophobic insults against housemates

In Ugra, a criminal case has been initiated against Raisa Mammadova for xenophobic insults in a common house chat.

On July 4, 2022, the Investigative Committee of Yugra announced that it had opened a criminal case under paragraph "a" of Part 2 of Art. 282 of the Criminal Code (incitement of hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity on the grounds of nationality) against Raisa Mammadova.

In September 2022, the case went to court. In October 2022, the trial of the case began.

According to local media reports, a conflict began in one of the house-wide chats on a social network after one of the residents of the house, Dmitry Kozhevatov, filmed children who were playing in the entrance and in the elevator of a high-rise building. He posted the video in a public chat. Including the children of Mammadova got on the video. After the video appeared in the same chat, the woman left an emotional voice message containing "insults and threats of violence against a housemate and an indefinite circle of people, focusing on their ethnicity."

Mammadova and Kozhevatov, who posted the video, were questioned by the police.

Representatives of the national-cultural autonomy of Surgut Azerbaijanis, as well as the religious organization Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Yugra, addressed the Mamedov family with sharp condemnation.

Mammadova's husband, Samir, apologized and noted that his wife's behavior was unacceptable. However, he expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that the video with his children was on the Internet. A day later, Mammadova also apologized to the residents, saying that she had been misunderstood.

On July 5, 2022, a court was held to select a preventive measure for Mammadova, she was given a preventive measure in the form of a ban on certain actions (in particular, a ban on accessing the Internet).

On July 15, 2022, Mammadova's lawyer reported that she wrote a confession and sent it to the Investigative Committee. She "gave a full confession, repents and undertakes to provide the necessary assistance to the investigation in the investigation of the case."

Earlier it was reported that a protocol was drawn up against Mammadova under Art. 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (inciting national hatred).

On July 11, 2022, the Surgut City Court of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Ugra fined Samir Mamedov 1,500 rubles for publishing in free access on the VKontakte social network a photograph with the symbols of the “Prisoner Criminal Unity”, recognized as extremist. After the recognition of the court, a decision was made to expel Mammadov from Russia.

On December 14, 2022, Raya Mammadova published a video on the azinforum.az portal with an appeal to her compatriots. She appealed to the Azerbaijani people for help and support, because she "was left alone with a big problem." In her defense, she stated that she "insulted the Russian people ... because the Russians used dirty insults against her children" and asked the Azerbaijanis to help her escape from prison. She added that the prosecutor's office had been bribed and the Russians wanted her jail time only on the basis that she was Azerbaijani. The author of the article asked to distribute this video so that it becomes available to as many Azerbaijani users as possible.

Sources

• To prison to calm the Russians: Raya Mammadova from Surgut complained to Azerbaijanis // Muksun. 2023. January 17.
• The point in the criminal case has not been set: Rai Mammadov is waiting for another court hearing // SITV.ru. 2022. October 28.
• A resident of Surgut will be tried for inciting hatred towards Russians // Kommersant. 2022. September 20.
• CASE No. 5-3658/2022 // Official site of the Surgut City Court of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug - Yugra. 2022. July 11.
• Husband of Rai Mammadova, disgraced by Russophobic attacks, will leave Yugra // News of Ugra. 2022. August 26.
• In Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, a southerner who insulted Russians made a deal with the investigation // Ura.ru. 2022. July 15.
• A criminal case was opened on the fact of insulting statements by a resident of Surgut on a social network // Official site for the IC of Russia in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug-Yugra. 2022. July 4th.
• Investigative Committee of Yugra accuses a resident of Surgut of inciting hatred for speaking out against Russians // 86.ru. 2022. July 4th.
• Surgut woman Raya Mammadova and neighbors: all the details of the conflict // sitv.ru. 2022. June 4.