An activist from Tatarstan became a suspect in the case of re-discrediting the army

60-year-old Andrei Bogdanov, who is accused of attempting to set fire to a military registration and enlistment office, became a suspect under Art. 280.3 CC.

On March 6, 2023, it became known that a 60-year-old resident of Zelenodolsk (Republic of Tatarstan) Andrei Bogdanov became a suspect under Part 1 of Art. 280.3 of the Criminal Code (public actions aimed at discrediting the armed forces , committed after bringing to administrative responsibility). What served as the reason for bringing him to criminal responsibility has not yet been reported.

Earlier, on March 14, 2022, Bogdanov was twice fined 15 thousand rubles under Art. 20.3.3 Code of Administrative Offenses on discrediting the use of Russian armed forces. As follows from the texts of the decisions of the Zelenodolsk City Court, the reason was single pickets in the city square with posters “No ZZonder operation, boys go home to their mothers! not a load of 200" and "Citizens? The Fatherland is in danger, our tanks are on foreign soil! - Alexander Galich."

From our point of view, the introduction into legislation of a ban on discrediting the actions of the Russian armed forces and government agencies abroad was an unjustified restriction of the right to freedom of expression, designed to suppress criticism of the political course of the authorities. Therefore, we consider prosecution under the relevant articles for statements that do not contain direct calls for violence to be unlawful.

We also note that, according to local law enforcement agencies, at the beginning of September 2022, Bogdanov made an unsuccessful attempt to set fire to the Zelenodolsk Military Commissariat, throwing a bottle of flammable liquid towards the institution, which did not catch fire. He was held under arrest on charges brought under Part 2 of Art. 167 using Part 3 of Art. 30 of the Criminal Code (attempted intentional damage to someone else’s property by arson) for six months, until March 5, 2023, and then was released from pre-trial detention center under a ban on certain actions.

Sources

• The defendant in the case of attempting to arson a military registration and enlistment office in Tatarstan was released from the pre-trial detention center // OVD-Info. 2023. March 6.
• Administrative violation case file No. 5-1382/2022 // Zelenodolsk City Court of the Republic of Tatarstan. 2023. March.
• Administrative violation case file No. 5-1381/2022 // Zelenodolsk City Court of the Republic of Tatarstan. 2023. March.