In the "theatrical case" of "justifying terrorism" against director Yevgenia Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk, a new examination was appointed, it will be carried out by the FSB department for the Sverdlovsk region. Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, announced this on the air of the Living Nail channel.
“I can say the latest news without details, because I did not consult a lawyer. A new forensic examination has been scheduled. It will be conducted by the FSB in the Sverdlovsk region. That examination did not pass, did not roll in court. Now they have re-sent the examination to the Urals.”
The accusation in the case is based on a “destructological” examination, but even the Ministry of Justice believes that it cannot be evidence in court, since “destructology” is not a science.
On June 30, the court extended the arrest of Berkovich and Petriychuk until September 10, 2023. Berkovich has two adopted children, she asked the judge to send her under house arrest to her daughters.
Berkovich and Petriychuk were detained in Moscow on May 4 in connection with a criminal case on “justifying terrorism”. A denunciation of their play Finist Yasny Sokol was written by members of the National Liberation Movement of Russia (NOD). The production tells about women from Russia who decided to marry Islamists and leave for Syria, as a result of which they were recruited by militants. The authors of the denunciation complained, among other things, that during the performance the actors did not remind about the ban on ISIS in the Russian Federation. The premiere of the performance took place in 2020, it was awarded the Golden Mask theatrical award. Initially, both Berkovich and Petriychuk were released after interrogation, but almost immediately they were detained again, already in the status of suspects.
Meduza studied “comprehensive destructive forensics” in the case of Berkovich and Petriychuk, including the document saying that “radical feminism” is as dangerous as the Islamic State. Roman Silantyev, the founder of the pseudoscience of “destructology”, took part in the examination (listed in the case as “historian, religious expert-destructologist”), as well as “linguist-destructologist” Galina Khizrieva and “destructologist, clinical psychologist, sociologist” Elena Zamyshevskaya. They concluded that the play and performance contained "signs of a justification of terrorism". According to experts, the participation of heroines in ISIS "is justified by the girlish naivety of the heroine and the desire to have a family," as well as "irresistible passion / love." The excerpts from the examination published by the publication also state that the materials of the play "may have an ideological or psychological impact on the audience and induce them to take actions aimed at destabilizing the activities of the authorities of the Russian Federation."
