Novosibirsk resident fined for tweets about Siberian independence

The ex-head of the Union of Ukrainians of Siberia was punished under Art. 20.3.2 of the Administrative Code for several tweets.

On April 17, 2023, the Novosibirsk Regional Court upheld the punishment for activist Sergei Ivashchenko under Part 2 of Art. 20.3.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (public calls for separatism on the Internet). On December 12, 2022, the Leninsky District Court of Novosibirsk fined him 70,000 rubles.

The former head of the Union of Ukrainians of Siberia was brought to justice for several publications on Twitter. According to media reports, he argued, in particular, that Siberia should throw off the shackles of "shameful (shameful) colonial dependence" and become "independent." These tweets drew attention to the department of the FSB of Russia in the Novosibirsk region. A linguist involved in the case stated that the publications contained claims that Siberia was "occupied and should become independent" and calls for the political and therefore territorial independence of Siberia, that is, its separation from Russia.

We did not have the opportunity to get acquainted with all of Ivashchenko's tweets in the original, however, based on media data and decisions of the regional court, we tend to consider his persecution unlawful. We believe that sanctions are appropriate only if calls for violent separatism are published, while peaceful discussions about the territorial status of certain regions should not be limited. Apparently, there were no calls for violence in Ivashchenko's publications.

Sources

• The former head of the Union of Ukrainians of Siberia was fined for tweets calling to “throw off the shackles of shameful colonial dependence” // Mediazone. 2023. 17 April.
• Case card on an administrative offense No. 7a-133/2023 // Novosibirsk Regional Court. May 19, 2023
• Case card on an administrative offense No. 5-1271/2022 // Novosibirsk Regional Court. May 19, 2023