The Oktyabrsky District Court of Ivanovo sent blogger from Shuya Sergei Veselov into custody until March 16 on his new criminal case of calls for terrorism (Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by his lawyer from OVD-Info, Oscar Cherdzhiev.
A new, fourth, criminal case against Veselov became known on January 22, when the man was detained by FSB officers. He said that he received bruises during the arrest, although he did not resist. Previously, the man was under recognizance not to leave the place.
The blogger first faced criminal prosecution in March 2022: then a case of vandalism (Part 1 of Article 214 of the Criminal Code) was opened against him because of the inscription “No to War” on the city administration building. Later, the charges against him were tightened, adding the motive of political hatred (Part 2 of Article 214 of the Criminal Code).
As part of the same case, Veselov is being prosecuted on several counts, which the security forces consider to discredit the army. All of them are linked to videos on YouTube. The man was charged with the first episode in July 2022, another in September, and two more in December. One of the videos, which the investigation considers to violate the law, was called “The water is wet, the grass is green, the sky is blue, they kill in war.” Another episode is related to the published recording of Veselov’s speech in court, where an appeal in an administrative case to discredit the army was being considered (Part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). In March 2023, Veselovwas finally charged in this case.
In December 2022, a criminal case was also opened against Veselov for insulting a judge (Part 2 of Article 297 of the Criminal Code) because of the video “What is going on with the judicial system of the Russian Federation?”: in it, the man named the judge of the Frunzensky District Court Nikolai Vergazov, who had previously appointed he is prohibited from certain actions under the article on discrediting the army (Part 1 of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code), a “patented cretin.” In August, Veselov was sentenced to 300 hours of compulsory labor in this case; the decision was later upheld on appeal.
A third criminal case was opened in October 2023: the blogger was again charged with discrediting the Russian army because of a video entitled “Do not confuse the Germans with the Nazis, and the Russians with the Putinites.” Initially, the man was also charged with an article on the rehabilitation of Nazism (Part 4 of Article 354.1 of the Criminal Code), but the investigation abandoned this charge. On January 20, 2024, the case came to court.
In parallel with the criminal cases, the man is also being prosecuted administratively: for example, in August a report was drawn up against him under an article about LGBTQ “propaganda” due to a post on a telegram channel.
- 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 .