A criminal case about calls for terrorism on the Internet (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code) against a resident of Prokopyevsk (Kemerovo Region) Lenard Valeev was submitted to the 1st Eastern District Military Court for consideration on the merits. The man is accused of posting against the authorities on VKontakte. This was reported by the telegram channel “Kuzbass without extremism” associated with the security forces.
The case against Valeev became known on April 8. According to investigators, the man wrote several posts on a social network calling on mobilized citizens to use the weapons issued to them “to overthrow the government.” The publications that the telegram channel talks about are currently unavailable .
Valeev’s posts were identified by the Center for Countering Extremism of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Kemerovo Region. “The linguistic research carried out showed that the text contained public calls for terrorist activities,” the security forces write.
The Telegram channel also claims that previously the 60-year-old man participated in protests organized by Navalny’s headquarters, and he was brought to administrative responsibility under the article on violating the rules of holding public events.
On the website of the Rudnichny District Court of Prokopyevsk, a decision dated April 2, 2022 was published on the appointment of administrative arrest to Lenard Valeev for three days under the article on organizing an uncoordinated public action (Part 2 of Article 20.2 of the Administrative Code). According to the ruling, the man published a post with the text “Let's go out! April 2, 14:00 ALL-RUSSIAN PROTEST." On that day, protests against the war in Ukraine took place in many Russian cities.
Initially, with reference to “Kuzbass without Extremism,” we indicated that the case was submitted to the 2nd Eastern District Military Court. However, according to the jurisdiction of cases determined by the Criminal Code, cases under “terrorist” articles cannot be considered in this court.
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Since February 24, 2022—the first day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine—residents of Russian cities have been holding anti-war protests every day and talking about the tragedy online. Anti-war speeches and statements become grounds for criminal prosecution. At the moment, more than 700 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protest against the war with Ukraine. Read more about this in our infographic .
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After the start of the war in Ukraine, the Russian authorities began to react sharply to protest sentiments. The list of articles under which those who oppose the war are prosecuted is quite wide. Those involved in “anti-war cases” are often charged with hooliganism, vandalism, violence against government officials, and other violations. A significant element of pressure was also the articles introduced into the Criminal Code after the outbreak of hostilities - the spread of “fakes” about the Russian army and discrediting the armed forces.