The court in Arkhangelsk did not consider the protest against the mobilization “discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation”
On November 8, the Arkhangelsk Regional Court considered the complaint of a resident of the city of Nyandoma (Arkhangelsk region) Yulia Zheleznyakova and her lawyer for a fine of 30 thousand rubles. On September 24, the girl posted on VKontakte a link to a petition against mobilization on change.org. On the same day, the police drew up a protocol against her under the article on “discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation” (part 1 of article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). The District Court upheld the police’s findings that the inducement to sign the petition against the mobilization constituted “a public call to prevent the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation”.
The regional court did not agree with this. The decision states that the status of a serviceman is acquired by mobilized only after “enrollment in the lists of personnel of the relevant military units”, so the expression of protest against the mobilization is not “discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.” The case against Zheleznyakova was dismissed due to the absence of an administrative offense in her actions.
Ordinances like the overturned one are found in courts across the country. Thus, in October, a court in Komsomolsk-on-Amur fined pensioner Sergei Voronov 30,000 rubles for picket with a placard “No mobilization”. According to the police, by showing the poster, the man formed “a negative opinion about partial mobilization, that is, he carried out public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the RF Armed Forces.” On November 22, the Khabarovsk Regional Court will consider Voronov’s appeal.
In addition, last month, a court in Novy Urengoy (YaNAO) arrested employees of a large oil and gas company Sergey Grishchenko and Dmitry Mingulov for five days under the article on organizing an uncoordinated event (part 2 of article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation) and imposed fines of 35 thousand rubles for article about “discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation” (part 1 of article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation) for an action with a poster “No to graves!”. The police and the court also considered the content of the poster “discrediting the use of the RF Armed Forces.” The men later retired and emigrated to Mexico. To journalists they told about being beaten by police officers in the department.
SOTA (@sotaproject)