On December 28, 2023, the Nerchinsko-Zavodskoy District Court of the Trans-Baikal Territory received a case against local residents about discrediting the army, which led to dangerous consequences (Part 2 of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code). OVD-Info drew attention to this.
There are five defendants in the case: Vladislav Alexandrov, Evgeniy Golyatin, Ivan Zyryanov, Sergei Piskarev and Anastasia Chertkova. Aleksandrov, Zyryanov and Piskarev were charged with discrediting the army, which led to dangerous consequences, Chertkova was charged with incitement to this (Part 2 of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code with the application of Part 5 of Article 33 of the Criminal Code).
Aleksandrov, Zyryanov and Piskarev were also charged under articles of intentionally causing minor harm to health for political or ideological reasons (clause “b” of Part 2 of Article 115 of the Criminal Code) and intentional destruction of property (Part 1 of Article 167 of the Criminal Code). Golyatin and Chertkova were charged with incitement to cause harm to health (clause “b” of Part 2 of Article 115 of the Criminal Code with the use of Part 5 of Article 33 of the Criminal Code).
These people are accused in the case of an attack on former Wagner PMC fighter and participant in the war in Ukraine Mikhail Taskin in the village of Nerchinsky Zavod in the Trans-Baikal Territory in August last year. His sister told local media that her brother, who was relaxing with friends in a local cafe, had a conflict with another company. According to her, “the SVO participants were called murderers and insulted,” and after they tried to leave the cafe, “the attackers caught up with them in a car and began beating them in a crowd.”
It was then reported that a criminal case was opened against the attackers for deliberate destruction of property. At the same time, they were also threatened with prosecution under the article on discrediting the army. Initially, only three defendants were known - Alexandrov, Zyryanov and Piskarev. All of them were taken into custody; Zyryanov had previously been put on the wanted list and arrested in absentia.
- 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 800 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protest against the war with Ukraine. Read more about this in our infographic .
- Article 280.3 (Public actions aimed at discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation) was included in the Criminal Code in March 2022 - in this way the government responded to anti-war speeches and statements, as well as the dissemination of information about the war that does not come from official Russian sources. On March 14, 2023, the State Duma adopted amendments increasing the maximum penalty under this article, since then it has been seven years in prison.