Igor Strelkov sentenced to 4 years in prison. Sentence approved

In July 2023, Igor Strelkov was arrested in Moscow and charged with public calls for extremism (Article 280 of the Criminal Code). The court sent him to a pretrial detention facility. In November 2023, the investigation into the case was completed. In January 2024, the court found Strelkov guilty and sentenced him to 4 years in prison. Strelkov appealed the decision, but in May 2024, the First Appellate Court of General Jurisdiction dismissed the appeal and left the sentence unchanged.

In January 2024, the Moscow City Court issued a verdict in the case against Igor Strelkov (real name Girkin), who was accused of public calls for extremism (Part 2 of Article 280 of the Criminal Code).

Let us recall that Strelkov was detained in Moscow on July 21, 2023; his apartment was searched the same day. Initially, it was unclear under what article the criminal case was opened. Strelkov's wife, Miroslava Reginskaya, stated that, according to some acquaintances, he was charged under Article 282 of the Criminal Code (incitement of hatred). Then, the media, citing witnesses to the detention, reported that it could be Article 282.1 of the Criminal Code (organization of an extremist community). However, it later became known that he was charged under Part 2 of Article 280 of the Criminal Code (public calls for extremism on the Internet).

On the same day, the Meshchansky District Court of Moscow granted the investigators' motion and remanded Strelkov in custody. After Strelkov's arrest, his comrade Pavel Gubarev held a solo picket outside the Meshchansky District Court with a poster reading "Freedom for Strelkov. Glory to Russia" and was himself detained; he was soon released without a report being drawn up. Several other supporters of the politician were also detained.

According to the decision to initiate a criminal case, which is dated July 18, 2023, specialists from the FSB Institute of Forensic Science examined Strelkov's publications on Telegram and found "linguistic signs of a call to commit crimes motivated by political hatred and enmity" in his post of May 22, 2022. This publication, which was viewed by more than 432 thousand people, was dedicated to the non-payment of salaries to soldiers of the 105th and 107th regiments of the DPR Armed Forces. According to the author of the post, "shooting" those responsible for such situations is not enough.

According to Strelkov's lawyer, experts also examined another post — from June 14, 2023 — in which Strelkov commented on Alexander Lukashenko's words about Russia's readiness to negotiate with Ukraine in 2022 on the status of Crimea. Strelkov called the actions of the Russian leadership an attempt at treason. From the lawyer's words, it can be judged that in this publication, experts found signs of a public, knowingly false accusation of extremism against a person holding a government position. According to the law, such accusations themselves are extremist activity. However, since there were no calls in this post, it was not mentioned in the resolution to initiate a case under Article 280 of the Criminal Code.

We believe that Strelkov was speaking figuratively in his emotional post about non-payment to soldiers, and it is unlikely that his words can be regarded as a call to shoot people - even taking into account his combat experience and wide audience. Therefore, we are inclined to believe that in this case he is being persecuted unlawfully.

In November 2023, Strelkov's lawyer reported that the investigation into the case had been completed. After the indictment is approved, the case will be referred to the court for consideration on the merits. On December 14, 2023, the first hearing of the Moscow City Court on the case against Strelkov was held. The hearings were held behind closed doors.

On January 25, 2024, the Moscow City Court found Strelkov guilty and sentenced him to 4 years in a general regime penal colony. In addition to the main punishment, he was banned from administering Internet resources for 3 years.

Strelkov disagreed with this decision and appealed it. However, on May 29, 2024, the First Appellate Court of General Jurisdiction left the appeal unsatisfied and the sentence unchanged.

Let us recall that Igor Strelkov is one of the most ardent critics of how the special military operation is being carried out, although he fully supports the idea of ​​such an operation. Strelkov states that the goals are set too narrowly and are being implemented “ineptly” (for more information on his point of view regarding the SVO, see here and here ), and from this position, without mincing words, he criticizes the military and political leadership of the country. In addition, Strelkov has consistently criticized the activities of the Wagner PMC and its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, with whom he is in conflict (for more information on the conflict with Prigozhin, see here ).

In April 2023, Strelkov, in alliance with several other public figures, created the "Club of Angry Patriots". The club united some nationalists (and others) who, like Strelkov, support the SVO, but do not agree with the way it is carried out. The chairman of the club was a former member of the Russian National Unity (RNU) and former "people's governor" of the Donetsk region Pavel Gubarev. In addition to Strelkov, the club included ultra-right blogger Maxim Kalashnikov, Drugoros Mikhail Aksel, activist of the Odessa Anti-Maidan and author of the Telegram channel "Ghost of Novorossiya" Vladimir Grubnik, veteran of the national patriotic movement Viktor Alksnis, military expert Maxim Klimov and former governor of the Pskov region Yevgeny Mikhailov, a prominent figure in the LDPR in 1993-1999 (for more information about the Club, see here ).

After the Wagner PMC’s “march on Moscow,” Strelkov sought state-level condemnation of the actions of this structure and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Sources

• The appeal court upheld the sentence of Igor Strelkov in the case of calls for extremism // Interfax. 2024. May 29.
• Moscow City Court sentenced Igor Strelkov to 4th penal colony in case of calls for extremism on the Internet // Mediazona. 2024. January 25.
• Based on materials from social networks.
• Security forces detained Igor Strelkov // RBC. 2023. July 21.
• According to preliminary data, Igor Strelkov was detained by FSB officers // Telegram channel BAZA. 2023. July 21.
• The prosecution asks to send Strelkov to a pretrial detention center; information about a travel ban has not been confirmed // SHOT Telegram channel. 2023. July 21.
• Case card No. 3/1-0205/2023 // Official portal of courts of general jurisdiction. 2023. July 24.
• Strelkov's lawyer reported the completion of the investigation into his case // 360. 2023. November 16.