In the Moscow region, a court decision that did not extend the arrest of a person involved in an “anti-war case” was overturned

The Moscow Regional Court overturned the decision of the lower court, which refused to extend the arrest of the defendant in the “anti-war case” Andrei Adarin. This was reported by lawyer from OVD-Info Yulia Kuznetsova, who represents the interests of the man.

In September 2022, a criminal case was opened against Adarin for “fakes” about the Russian army (Part 1 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). The reason was publications on a telegram: the investigation believes that the man created a channel where he posted several anti-war publications, including about events in Bucha and Irpen.

Initially, he was given a ban on certain actions, but on November 30, the man was detained . After that, he was sent to a pre-trial detention center: the court considered the purchase of a bus ticket from Moscow to Minsk a violation of the preventive measure.

Adarin himself then explained that he decided to buy a ticket because he noticed he was being followed, and wanted to test his assumption in this way. In court, the man said that his daughter bought the ticket in his name, but the court did not grant the defense’s request to question her during the hearing.

In December 2022, the Domodedovo City Court refused to extend Adarin’s arrest, changing the preventive measure to a ban on certain actions. The investigation appealed this decision and achieved its cancellation: now the same court will again consider the petition to extend the detention.

• Since February 24—the first day of the “special operation” in Ukraine—residents of Russian cities have been going out to anti-war rallies every day and talking about the tragedy online. Anti-war speeches and statements become grounds for criminal prosecution. At the moment, more than 420 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protest against the war with Ukraine. Read more about this in our guide .
• Article 207.3 (Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation) was included in the Criminal Code in March 2022 - in this way the authorities responded to anti-war speeches and statements, as well as the dissemination of information about the war that does not come from official Russian sources. The maximum penalty under this article is 15 years in prison.