Igor Maltsev was sentenced

Petersburg activist received three years and eight months in prison under Art. 213 of the Criminal Code.

On September 26, 2022, the Vasileostrovskiy District Court of St. Petersburg sentenced Igor Maltsev, who was accused of hooliganism committed by a group of people motivated by political and ideological hatred of military personnel (part 2 of article 213 of the Criminal Code). He was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison in a penal colony.

The reason for persecution of Maltsev was a performance in which a scarecrow in camouflage with a bag on his head and the inscription "TAKE UP" was burned on the ice of the Malaya Neva. A video of the performance, apparently in response to the "special military operation" in Ukraine, appeared on social networks on March 6. The next day, a criminal case was initiated against Maltsev and activist Sofya Semenova - initially under paragraph "b" of Part 1 of Art. 213 of the Criminal Code (hooliganism motivated by political and ideological hatred). Both were searched, the court sent Maltsev to a pre-trial detention center, and Semenova was given a preventive measure in the form of a ban on certain actions, and at the end of March she left Russia.

According to the investigation, with which the court agreed, Maltsev, " being a member of the anti-war movement (a pacifist), since 2020 attending rallies against the current government " and on February 25 was fined 10 thousand rubles under Part 1 of Art. 20.2.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses , no later than the same date entered into an agreement with Semenova and other unidentified persons. Semyonova brought a camouflage uniform and, together with Maltsev, made a scarecrow, after which on March 6 they arrived at the Malaya Neva, installed a scarecrow on a mooring support and applied an inscription. After that, the court decided, Maltsev set fire to the scarecrow, and Semenova filmed a video, which was later published on the Petersburg Spring Telegram channel with the comment: “We were sent footage of the Maslenitsa action, which took place today in St. Petersburg. Anonymous activists demand: “Take the soldiers and bodies back to Russia!” ".

The state prosecutor asked the court to sentence Maltsev to five years in prison

We consider the persecution of both Maltsev and Semyonova unlawful, since, from our point of view, although the activists were guided by political motives, the qualification of their actions under Art. 213 of the Criminal Code is incorrect. As far as we can judge, the actions of the authors of the video did not violate the working and rest conditions of citizens, the work of institutions, etc., that is, they did not lead to a gross violation of public order. The performance should not be regarded as an expression of disrespect for society, on the contrary, the purpose of the action was obviously to draw the attention of society to an important, from the point of view of the organizers, socio-political issue. It should also be noted that the manifestation of political hostility in itself is not criminalized, and in our opinion, this motive should be taken into account in the accusation when manifestations of political hostility are associated with violence or manifestations of xenophobia.

Sources

• Vasileostrovsky District Court of St. Petersburg announced the verdict against Igor Maltsev, who was found guilty of committing a crime under part 2 of article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation // United press service of the courts of St. Petersburg. 2022. September 26.