The case against blogger Yuri Khovansky, who was accused of justifying terrorism, has been dismissed. The decision was made by the 2nd Western District Military Court at an off-site meeting in St. Petersburg. This is reported by lawyer Pavel Chikov.
According to the lawyer, the reason for the termination was the expiration of the statute of limitations for bringing to responsibility. The court also decided to cancel Yury's preventive measure in the form of a ban on certain actions after the entry into force of the court decision.
Khovansky was accused of justifying terrorism because of the song he sang about the terrorist attack on Dubrovka with obscene language in relation to the child victims of the terrorist attack. The investigation claimed that the song was performed in 2018, although the defense insisted that the stream with the performance of the song by Khovansky was in 2012.
“Throughout the investigation, the defense insisted on incorrect qualifications, and in the end, the lawyers managed to prove that the blogger performed the song in 2012,” says Chikov. – Then such actions fell under Part 1 of Art. 205.2 of the Criminal Code, relating to crimes of medium gravity and having a statute of limitations for prosecution of six years.
Khovansky was in a pre-trial detention center from June 10 to December 29, 2021. The witnesses in the case were three people who allegedly accidentally heard the song in public places in 2018. Two of them could have previously worked in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the testimonies of all three coincided verbatim in places. The first witness, Andrei Bakulin, bluntly wrote on his social networks that he had previously worked in the civil service. In the contact databases, he is listed as Andrey Uboyny, SEB Bakulin Andrey, Andrey UgRo Peter, Andrey Bakulin (our killer Frunzensky), Bakulin Frunzensky, Andrey FSB.
The second witness, Ivan Bend, indicated on social networks that in 2006 he graduated from the St. Petersburg University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It also turned out that Bend worked as an operative of the criminal police from 2005 to 2008, then for several years he was the deputy general director for security in a commercial company.