A teacher from Komi, Nikita Tushkanov, was sentenced to five years and six months in prison on charges of “justifying terrorism” for a post about the explosion of the Crimean bridge. It is reported by Sota from the courtroom. Tushkanov was banned from administering websites for two years.
“I feel excited, like before the first date. It is expected that there will be some real term, ”Tushkanov told the correspondent of the publication before the verdict was announced.
The prosecution requested 6 years in prison. The criminal case was considered in one sitting.
Mediazona published the last word of Tushkanov, with which he spoke the day before:
“I loved and love my Motherland, but my love changed due to how my country behaved in relation to its citizens (including veterans, leaving them on the sidelines of life) and in the international arena.
While still engaged in search activities, I realized that the war is beautiful only in parades, but in reality it is only death. And the whole truth about the war can be told by those whose remains I carried in my arms from the forests and swamps. War is a crime, and its initiation is a crime for which there is no justification.
I do not accept terrorist acts, I do not approve of them, and I have an extremely negative attitude. Calls for terrorist activities did not carry out. Since the launch of the bridge, it has been used by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The bridge acts as a military logistics chain in the war with Ukraine. Thus, damage to the bridge cannot be recognized as a terrorist act.
Recognizing the blowing up of the Crimean bridge as an act of terrorism on the part of Ukraine, the Russian authorities themselves continuously launch rocket attacks on Ukraine. The world is on the verge of a nuclear war, and it all started with the actions of the Russian Armed Forces and personally the commander in chief.
In the soul of every person there is a front line. The hearts of millions of Russians are in the line of fire. We are all now in a state of mental civil war, and it was unleashed by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, the Federation Council, the Security Council and the State Duma.
Earlier, Memorial recognized Tushkanov as a political prisoner. “We believe that the words imputed to Tushkanov under Art. 205.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation as “justifying terrorism”, cannot be considered as inciting someone to commit acts of a terrorist nature. His persecution under this article continues the state campaign to “cleanse” dissidents and is a reaction to his anti-war statements,” the human rights activists said in a statement.
A court in Syktyvkar arrested Tushkanov in December last year. Before that, they came to his house with a search.
On October 10, 2022, Tushkanov posted a photo of the destruction after rocket attacks on Ukrainian cities with the caption: "Putin's fascism's revenge for the Crimean bridge." He also called the explosion on the Kerch bridge "a birthday present for Putler."
In March 2021, Tushkanov was fired from the school where he taught history after a picket and posts in support of political prisoners. The dismissal order states that he committed an "immoral act."