The state prosecutor requested 11 years in prison for the ex-head of Navalny's headquarters in Barnaul

Vadim Ostanin is accused of creating an extremist community and participating in an NGO that encourages citizens to commit illegal acts.

On June 21, 2023, in the Central District Court of Barnaul, the debate of the parties began in the case of the former head of headquarters of Alexei Navalny in Barnaul, Vadim Ostanin, who is accused of creating an extremist community (part 1 of article 282.1 of the Criminal Code) and participating in a non-profit organization whose activities are associated with the inducement of citizens to commit unlawful acts (part 3 of article 239 of the Criminal Code). The public prosecutor asked the court to sentence him to 11 years in prison.

The persecution of Ostanin became known on December 28, 2021, when his mother was searched in Biysk, Altai Territory, and he himself stopped communicating. Later it turned out that the court chose a preventive measure for him in the form of a ban on certain actions as a suspect under Art. 282.1 of the Criminal Code (organization or participation in the activities of an extremist organization) and Art. 239 of the Criminal Code. In May 2021, it became known that Ostanin was transferred to a pre-trial detention center. The case went to court on February 6, 2023, and the court began its consideration on March 20, 2023.

It should be noted that the structures of Alexei Navalny and his supporters - the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), the Fund for the Protection of Citizens' Rights (FZPG) and Navalny's headquarters - were recognized as extremist organizations in the summer of 2021 (in our opinion, unlawfully ) . And since September 2021, the activities that Navalny’s structures carried out before this ban were considered by the Investigative Committee as the activities of an extremist community: then the main investigative department of the Investigative Committee opened a case under Art. 282.1 of the Criminal Code in relation to Navalny himself and a number of his supporters (for more information about our position on this case, see here ). Then this case was merged with others: on money laundering (clause “b” of part 4 of article 174 of the Criminal Code), the creation of a non-profit organization whose activities are associated with inciting citizens to commit illegal acts (part 2 of article 239 of the Criminal Code) , on the financing of extremism (part 1 of article 282.3 of the Criminal Code).

Subsequently, the defendants in cases under Art. 282.1 and 239 of the Criminal Code became two dozen regional activists who previously participated in Navalny's structures, several of them have already been sentenced.

Sources

• Based on social media.
• Criminal case card No. 1-350/2023 // Central District Court of Barnaul, Altai Territory. 2023. March 20.