A criminal case for discrediting the army (Part 1 of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code) has been opened against Christian preacher and neo-Pentecostal from the Sverdlovsk region Eduard Charov. His wife Inna reported this on the man's page on VKontakte, and the message was noticed by 7x7 — Horizontal Russia.
The reason for the persecution was a repost of a picture about patriotism that the preacher made on September 3, 2023, Inna Charova told the publication. "A patriot is someone who wants to make his country better, his people richer, and his government more honest and fair. And not someone who justifies poverty and corruption with imaginary greatness and spiritual bonds," the picture says (the author's spelling has been preserved).
The expert considered that the publication contains “signs of convincing the addressee of the negative nature of the goals of the Russian Federation state bodies in exercising their powers, that is, their discrediting.”
This is the second criminal case against the believer. In February, it became known that Charov was being prosecuted under the article on justifying terrorism because of a "sarcastic comment on the Internet." According to his wife, the man "was joking about someone's latest attempt to set fire to a military registration and enlistment office." In this criminal case, the preacher is prohibited from certain actions: he cannot use a telephone or the Internet, or leave the Krasnoufimsky District without permission from an investigator.
In late January, security forces came to search the shelter for the homeless and elderly "For Christ's Sake" founded by Charov in the village of Savinovo near Krasnoufimsk. "They confiscated the tablet. They scared the old people and the disabled," his wife said. In the fall of 2022, the priest invited "conscripts who had escaped from moGilization" to the shelter.
In April 2023, Charov was fined 65 thousand rubles for anti-war publications and criticism of the government: 45 thousand under the article on discrediting the Russian army and another 20 thousand rubles under the article on inciting hatred or enmity.
- Since February 24, 2022 — the first day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine — residents of Russian cities have been taking part in anti-war protests and talking about the tragedy online every day. Anti-war speeches and statements are becoming grounds for criminal prosecution. At the moment, more than 950 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protests 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 — this is how 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.
- More information about the persecution of Christian religious leaders who oppose the war can be found here .