The FSB detained the student several hours after he came across “extremist” material on the Internet. The data was apparently transmitted by the T2 operator

On Thursday it became known that a report was drawn up against 20-year-old medical college student Sergei G. from Kamensk-Uralsk, Sverdlovsk Region, under an article about deliberately searching for extremist materials on the Internet after his telecom operator passed the data to the security forces. This is the first known protocol under this article since it came into force on September 1. As the Agency learned, the young man was detained several hours after he came across prohibited content on the Internet. Apparently, the data was transmitted to the security forces by the operator T2 (formerly Tele2).

Details . As lawyer Sergei Barsukov told the Agency, his client came across the prohibited content on September 24, when on the way to work on the bus he was surfing the Internet and accidentally saw pictures with the symbols of the Ukrainian Azov regiment and the Russian Volunteer Corps fighting on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (both structures are recognized as terrorist organizations in Russia). The young man read the information about the formations and closed the page, the lawyer said.

• ️ On the same day, according to Barsukov, the operator who services Sergei’s number passed on information about this to the security forces. In the evening, the student was detained by FSB officers, the young man confessed, after which he was released. Later, the case materials were transferred to the police to draw up a report under Article 13.53 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
• ️ On October 10, the case materials were received by one of the justices of the peace in Kamensk-Uralsk. At the first hearing, which took place on October 14, the defense asked to summon two FSB officers who took explanations from the young man to the court as witnesses. On Thursday, a second hearing was held in the case, to which the security forces did not appear. During the hearing, the defense insisted that the client had no malicious intent, Barsukov said. The judge agreed and sent the materials to the police.
• ️ According to the Agency’s analysis, the only phone registered to the young man is serviced by the T2 operator. The editors sent a request to the company.

Context . The first known use of the clause to search for “extremist” material provides insight into how a law that criminalizes the consumption of content is likely to work. It was adopted by the State Duma in July and came into force on September 1. Now searching for “knowingly extremist materials” threatens the user with a fine of 3 to 5 thousand rubles.

• ️ Details of the case show that the system created in Russia for monitoring users on the Internet allows data to be transferred to security forces within a few hours. During this same time, security forces are able to detain the offender.
• ️ The main question now is how actively the security forces are going to use this article. “It is unclear how intensively it will be used, because the article came into force on September 1, and the first known enforcement has only just happened,” says OVD-Info lawyer Valeria Vetoshkina. Her colleague from the First Department, Evgeny Smirnov, expressed concern that the practice of prosecution under this article could become widespread if telecom operators pass on such information to security forces.