In Dagestan, they continue to punish under Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses for stickers with a pit bull

Dagestani motorists are again accused of displaying symbols of the Krasnodar Nazi skinhead group.

On May 3, 2024, the Kazbekovsky District Court of Dagestan fined Kazbek Israfilov one thousand rubles under Part 1 of Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. The reason was a sticker in the form of a pit bull and some abbreviation that was applied to the hood of the car he was driving.

On May 17, the Buinaksk City Court imposed the same fine on Abdulkerim Kerimov, who was driving a car that had a similar sticker "on the rear window of the left passenger door of the trunk." The court ordered him to remove the sticker.

In both cases, the court indicated that the images on the stickers related to the symbols of the Pit Bull group, which is recognized as an extremist organization in Russia.

Meanwhile, the decision of the Oktyabrsky District Court of Krasnodar on August 24, 2010 to ban the activities of the Pit Bull organization did not say anything about its symbols.

Pitbull stickers became popular among car enthusiasts after the appearance of racing computer video games created by the English company Pitbull Syndicate Ltd. Stickers with this image, as well as with the company's abbreviation - PSL - have no relation to the group banned in Krasnodar and are still available for sale around the world, including in Russia.

On the other hand, in the early 2000s, the Pitbull Syndicate logo was illegally used by several neo-Nazi groups, in particular, the American Keystone United. Perhaps, it was them that the Krasnodar ultra-right group was guided by, choosing the name and, possibly, some symbols, which, we repeat, are not described in the court decision. Meanwhile, prosecution under Part 1 of Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses should be based on the description of the symbols of an extremist organization in the court decision to ban it. Otherwise, it turns out that it is possible to prosecute for any images of dogs of the corresponding breed. In addition, even if it were precisely established that a little-known Krasnodar group consisting of several people illegally used the symbols of Pitbull Syndicate Ltd, this would not mean that law enforcement agencies and courts should punish law-abiding motorists for using the same symbols. Thus, the above-mentioned residents of Dagestan obviously knew nothing about the Krasnodar extremist organization and, accordingly, did not intend to promote its activities.

Sources

• Case card on administrative offense No. 5-28/2024 // Kazbekovsky District Court of the Republic of Dagestan. 2024. May 28.
• Administrative Offence Case Card No. 5-27/2024 // Buinaksk City Court of the Republic of Dagestan. 2024. May 24.