On April 23, the Southern District Military Court received a criminal case regarding comments about the war in Ukraine against a resident of Primorsko-Akhtarsk in the Krasnodar Territory, Gennady Vladimirov. The relevant information is published on the court's website.
The initiation of the case became known in December 2022. The man is accused under articles about repeated discrediting of the army (Part 1 of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code), calls for terrorism (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code), extremism (Part 2 of Article 280 of the Criminal Code) and anti-state activities (clause “c” Part 2 of Article 280.4 of the Criminal Code) on the Internet.
Vladimirov is charged with two episodes of discrediting the Russian army: comments on VKontakte about an attack on civilians in a Ukrainian village and a picture on VKontakte with a woman, a child, the letters Z and a garbage bag tied with a St. George’s ribbon and with a pool of blood under it.
The reason for prosecution under the article on calls for terrorism were several comments in a telegram in support of Denis Popov, who was being prosecuted in the case of arson of a military registration and enlistment office in Uglich. The article about calls for extremism was imputed due to two comments in a telegram calling for violence against Russians. Finally, the investigation saw calls for anti-state activity in two more comments in the telegram, one of which was a call for sabotage.
Vladimirov confessed. He is under recognizance not to leave the place.
A case under Part 1 of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code can be initiated if a person already has at least one decision under a similar administrative article (Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). In August 2022, Vladimirov was fined 40 thousand rubles under this article. The man was charged with a video in which he burns his military ID and uniform. At that moment he was in the mobilization reserve.
- 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.
- At the moment, more than 900 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protest against the war with Ukraine. Read more about this in our infographic .