Nikolai Trofimov, a resident of St. Petersburg who was persecuted because of the Victory Banner and the Russian flag splattered with black paint, has been charged with new charges. This was reported by the project "Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial".
The man was charged with vandalism motivated by political hatred (Part 2 of Article 214 of the Criminal Code) for damaging a pro-war banner and with desecration of a flag (Article 329 of the Criminal Code) for dousing a Russian flag with paint in May 2023.
Previously, a criminal case was opened against him for two episodes of rehabilitation of Nazism (Part 3 of Article 354.1 of the Criminal Code) and two episodes of desecration of the flag (Article 329 of the Criminal Code). According to the investigation, on May 4 and May 9, 2024, he doused the Victory Banner and the Russian flag with black paint.
Trofimov was detained on May 11, sent to custody on May 13, but released under house arrest on June 6. He was prohibited from communicating with witnesses in the case and from using the Internet.
- According to the SOVA Research Center, many cases under Article 354.1 of the Criminal Code are initiated unlawfully and should be classified under other articles of the Criminal Code or resolved within the framework of civil rather than criminal proceedings.