Participants of anti-war actions fined in Krasnodar, Volgograd, and Elista

The courts of the regions of southern Russia continue to bring to administrative responsibility on activists accused of uncoordinated anti-war actions and discrediting the actions of the Russian army in Ukraine. 

The Leninsky District Court of Krasnodar found local resident Elena Generalova guilty of violating the so-called rally article for participating in an anti-war rally on March 6 in the centre of Krasnodar. Her guilt is proved only by the protocol and police reports. "There is no evidence of any interest of police officers in the outcome of the case or the abuses committed by them, there are no grounds to question the facts indicated by officials in the documents drawn up," Federal Judge Gavlovsky said. Without even hearing Generalova’s statement, she was fined 132 euros.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kalmykia announced that five residents of Elista were brought to justice on charges of discrediting the Russian army. This is a 28-year-old resident who demonstrated "campaign material," for which the city court fined her 330 euros. In addition, four residents were fined for publishing on social networks - they were fined between 330 to 385 euros.

The Leninsky Court of Krasnodar also found the author of the telegram channel "Titushki in Krasnodar" and military pensioner Vitaly Votanovsky guilty of discrediting the use of the armed forces and fined him 330 euros. "There are three screenshots in the case file - the main page of the channel with an avatar in the form of a white inscription on a black background ‘No war,’ my photo from the media, where I stand at the board in the police department with the inscription ‘No war’ on the jacket and the third photo - when after a 20-day arrest, [I] returned home and was also photographed in a jacket with the same inscription," Vitaly Votanovsky told.

It was also discovered that the city court of Gelendzhik fined a local resident for 440 euros under a similar article on discrediting. According to the press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Krasnodar Territory, the security forces considered a phrase shouted out of a car window criticising military aggression as an offense. Lawyer Olesya Panyuzheva, who represents the interests of blogger Alexander Nozdrinov, who was arrested on charges of spreading fake news about the Russian army, told that the security forces began checking reports of abuse by the police officers who detained Nozdrinov. He complained about a beating.

On March 17, the police filed two administrative protocols against the blogger - allegedly about the lack of rights to drive a car and disobedience to police officers. The rulings in both cases are currently being contested. “A report was submitted to the Investigative Committee about a crime about the use of such illegal methods during detention as physical force and special equipment. The person did not show any resistance, including the seizure of video recordings from cameras," Panyuzheva said.

Activists in the southern Russian regions continue to be persecuted for anti-war actions

On April 8, the Krasnoarmeisky Court of Volgograd imposed two fines of 330 euros each on local activist Yana Berezina on charges of distributing anti-war leaflets.

Activists from the southern regions of Russia report that they are under pressure because of their participation in anti-war actions. So, as part of the investigation into the case of a false report about an act of terrorism, a Volgograd resident Sergei Tkachev was searched - gadgets were confiscated from him. Prior to that, he was detained on March 6 at an anti-war rally, a protocol was drawn up against him under the “rally” article and he was fined 110 euros.

Vyacheslav Koshelev, a resident of the Volgograd satellite town of Volzhsky, says that on March 26, people he did not know beat him because of a T-shirt "30 years of independence of Ukraine" and a cap with the Ukrainian coat of arms. The people who beat him called the police themselves, who, according to Koshelev, detained him on charges of petty hooliganism - after a night in the police station, he was fined 5 euros.

At the end of March, the security forces already conducted searches at the homes of participants in anti-war actions in Volgograd and Krasnodar. In both cases, the formal reason was the investigation of a criminal case on a deliberately false report of an act of terrorism. At the same time, the activists claim that they have nothing to do with this call, and they consider the search itself an element of intimidation and a formal reason for confiscating their phones and laptops.

The Leninsky Court of Krasnodar imposed a fine of 110 euros on local resident Yaroslav Trofimov for "taking part in a protest action against the actions of the RF Armed Forces in Ukraine as part of a group of citizens." The Krasnodar citizen did not admit guilt, but the judge had enough protocols on an administrative offense and delivery to the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as a police report. Similar court decisions with fines were decided in the Leninsky Court in relation to Krasnodar residents Inna Karpenko and Lyudmila Romanovskaya.

The Krasnodar police also detained the  30-year-old activist Alexander Lukach, who went out in a solo picket. Aleksey Mandrigelya, coordinator of legal protection in the Krasnodar Territory, told that a picketer stood near the Gallery shopping centre with a poster reading "I don't want war" and painted flags of Russia and Ukraine. The security forces brought the activist to the police department, where they drew up a protocol on "discrediting" the the armed forces.

On April 4, the city court of Elista fined 70-year-old activist Valery Badmayev 385 euros in the case of discrediting the armed forces, lawyer Sanal Ubushev told. The reason was a video message in which a public figure called for an end to the war with Ukraine and the dismissal of President Vladimir Putin. The video recording was revealed by Major Sarangov, an operative of the Center for Combating Extremism of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Kalmykia.

On April 5, a blogger and activist from Sochi, Anna Kolmagortseva, had a court hearing in an administrative case on abuse of freedom of the media for an interview with coordinator of the civil initiative public movement Vladimir Atamanchuk.

Latest cases of persecution for anti-war stance in the North Caucasus

New information has been discovered regarding the persecution of residents in the South of Russia who oppose military aggression in Ukraine. 

A 56-year-old resident of Georgievsk in the Stavropol Territory was fined for discrediting the armed forces and disobeying the lawful demand of a police officer - while she voiced anti-war appeals already in the police department. The court fined the activist for 330 euros, the press service of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Stavropol Territory reports.

In the Arzgirsky district of the Stavropol Territory, a collage of a woman with a sword with the inscription "who before us will come with a sword - a kind of sword and zagin" was considered discrediting the use of the Russian military in Ukraine, the author of the publication received a fine of 440 euros, the press service reports district court.

The Leninsky Court of Krasnodar fined a local resident, Oleg Epifantsev, 330 euros for a solitary picket with a placard on which only the "Pacifist" sign was drawn. The consideration of the administrative case took place without his participation, but Epifantsev admitted his guilt.

“By his actions, he discredited the use of the RF Armed Forces in order to protect the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens, maintain international peace and security, namely, he carried out a solo picket with a poster on which he painted the ‘pacifist’ sign and demonstrated it in a public place for all to see,” which Judge Burenko's ruled as an "offence."

It also became known about the decision of the regional committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation to expel the deputy of the Volgograd City Duma Ilya Kravchenko from the party because of the anti-war position and the signed open letter of municipal deputies.

Arrested in Romania after fleeing the war in Ukraine, a native of Chechnya cannot pay for a lawyer

Amina Gerikhanova, a native of Chechnya, who is awaiting a decision on the issue of deportation to Russia in Romania, needs legal protection, but does not have the means to pay for a lawyer, according to the Chechen human rights association Vayfond, which operates in Europe.

Gerikhanov was detained on March 13 while trying to leave Ukraine. The Interpol search for her was carried out at the request of Russia - the refugee was accused of involvement in illegal armed groups in Syria. About five years ago Gerikhanov left Chechnya and lived in Kyiv.

The collection of funds for a lawyer for the arrested is carried out by her relatives. Human rights activists explained this by the fact that “due to false denunciations by Russia, the Swedish financial police (the association is located there) are worried that money can be sent to terrorists, and we have suspended collections so as not to discredit our work.”

The Vayfond lawyer added that she is aware of at least two or three cases every day when Chechen refugees from Ukraine face legal problems - some have their migration status cancelled, others from Russia receive requests through Interpol.