The Kirovsky District Court of Samara placed singer Eduard Charlotte, who was detained in November after returning to Russia, into custody until January 24, 2024. This was reported by RIA Novosti publication 63.ru.
Three criminal cases were opened against the singer - two under the article on the rehabilitation of Nazism (Part 4 of Article 354.1 of the Criminal Code) and one under the article on insulting the feelings of believers (Article 148 of the Criminal Code). RIA Novosti, citing an investigator, writes that Charlotte admitted guilt.
The defense asked for a more lenient measure of restraint, insisting that the singer had never been prosecuted before and would not have been able to escape even if he had gained access to communications. Despite this, the investigation insisted on arrest.
On November 22, the musician was detained when he flew from Armenia to Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg. At that moment, he was charged with an administrative charge of petty hooliganism (Part 1 of Article 20.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences) and was arrested for 13 days. Two days later it became known that criminal cases had been initiated against him.
As the SOVA Research Center noted , Charlotte was charged with an article on the rehabilitation of Nazism because of a video on his Instagram in which he tears the St. George ribbon hung in the shape of the letter Z. The security forces saw an insult to the feelings of believers in the video where Charlotte nails his a military ID, a photograph of Patriarch Kirill and a crucifix made of branches.
On the day of Charlotte’s arrest, the Baza telegram channel reported that protocols were drawn up against the singer under articles of discrediting the army (Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code) and deliberate damage to a passport (Article 19.16 of the Administrative Code). Telegram channels associated with security forces published a video of the singer’s repentance.
In June, Charlotte posted a video on his Instagram page in which he captured the burning of a Russian passport, condemned the war and announced his desire to move to Kiev.
On January 10, 2024, the Samara Regional Court rejected an appeal against the arrest of singer Eduard Charlotte. This was reported by 63.ru.
During the meeting, Charlotte asked for forgiveness from the “man with a capital M” Vladimir Putin, the “icon of the church” Patriarch Kirill, the singer Shaman, the FSB, as well as Ekaterina Mizulina, Ramzan Kadyrov and other people whom he “casually offended.”
The performer said that he was “besotted with American propaganda” and now wants to create patriotic music.
- 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 750 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protest against the war with Ukraine. Read more about this in our infographic .
- 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.
- After the start of the war with Ukraine, the number of cases under the article on the rehabilitation of Nazism (Article 354.1 of the Criminal Code) increased sharply - presumably, security forces use this article to put pressure on those who could potentially oppose the “special operation” in Ukraine and its “denazification.” According to the SOVA Research Center, many cases under Article 354.1 of the Criminal Code are initiated unlawfully and should be classified under other articles of the Criminal Code or resolved within the framework of civil rather than criminal proceedings.