Persecution of the anti-war movement report. January 2024

This month, activist Oksana Osadcha and SOTAvision journalist Mikhail Lebedev were detained. The activist was standing in front of the Prosecutor General’s office holding a poster in support of Igor Baryshnikov sentenced under the article on military «fakes», while the journalist was filming the picket. The young woman activist was charged with a violation of rules for participating in a picket (Article 20.2, Part 5 of the Administrative Code) and the journalist — with a repeat violation of the same article (Article 20.2, Part 8 of the Administrative Code). Later Mikhail Lebedev was arrested for 20 days.

Repressions at a legislative level

In total, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 51 repressive laws have been passed.

On 17 January 2024, draft legislation was introduced in the State Duma that targets the Yeltsin Centre, because Boris Yeltsin destroyed the USSR. According to the draft, Historical Legacy Centres shall only be established for those presidents who left office after January 1, 2000. The State Duma members also proposed to consider draft legislation on the confiscation of property and stripping of honorary titles for those convicted under «political» articles, including the article on «fakes» about the Russian army. The draft legislation was introduced on 22 January 2024, while the first reading is to take place on 24 January.

As Vasily Perskarev, a State Duma member and one of the authors of the draft legislation, pointed out, the law targets those who «have betrayed our country, are clearly engaged in anti-Russian activities and directly support the enemy.»

Criminal cases

As of 23 January 2024, 20% (164) of 825 defendants in anti-war criminal lawsuits are women. 253 defendants (31 of whom are women) are currently imprisoned.

This month we learned about 24 new defendants. Clarification: We had been aware of at least one of these cases before, but only found sufficient justification to include it in the list of «anti-war» cases this month. Among new defendants, for example, is Gasis Davletbayev, a loader from Magnitogorsk: A criminal case was brought against him for justification of terrorism (Article 205.2, Part 2 of the Criminal Code) because of his comment about Aleksey Nuriev and Roman Nasryev, who were convicted for an arson of a military recruiting office. Journalist Yekaterina Fomina was charged with «fakes» about the Russian army for interviewing a serviceman.

Public figures often face anti-war criminal charges for stating their position. This month politician Dmitry Gudkov, journalist Masha Gessen, creator of the animated series about Mr. Freeman Pavel Muntyan, and creator of Masyanya Oleg Kuvaev were put on a wanted list.

Tatiana Limenya-Osipova was fined for «nonreporting» (failure to report a crime or criminal intent, Article 205.6 of the Criminal Code): She was accused of not disclosing to the authorities that her friend, Maksim Asriyan, had been planning to carry out an arson of a military recruiting office in St. Petersburg. On 18 January 2024, Maksim himself was sentenced to 8 years in prison for an aborted plan to set fire to a military recruitment office (Article 205, Part 1 of the Criminal Code with the application of Article 30, Part 3) and treason (Article 275 of the Criminal Code).

This month we heard a lot about low-quality medical care — and occasionally no medical care — provided to defendants in «anti-war» cases in various detention and prison facilities. St. Petersburg artist Sasha Skochilenko, who was sentenced in November to 7 years in a penal colony for military «fakes», is unable to undergo a medical examination ordered by a doctor because the judge would not approve her transfer from the detention center to a civilian clinic. Igor Baryshnikov’s health took a turn for the worse in detention; despite the fact that he was transferred to the prison hospital, the conditions remain poor. On 29 December 2023, Mr. Baryshnikov was prescribed antibiotics, an ointment, and diuretics. However, as of 10 January 2024 he still hasn’t received them because there was no approval from the prison administration. Mr. Baryshnikov points out that his sleeping quarters are cold — 15oC — and he is unable to get warm even under a blanket.

They are also refusing to grant disability status to Yegor Balazeikin, a 17-year-old high-school student sentenced to 6 years in a juvenile hall for an arson of two military recruitment offices, despite his liver fibrosis, which has been worsening in detention. 

This month, verdicts were delivered with respect to 13 defendants in «anti-war» cases. Six of them were sentenced to 5 years in prison or more.

For example, Igor Pokusin from Abakan, 61, was sentenced to 8 years and 1 month in a strict regime colony for an attempt to join the Ukrainian Army. According to Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial, he has serious health issues: He had his «hip and knee joints replaced; there is a metal implant in his ankle and a stent in his heart.» In the first days of the full-scale war, Mr. Pokusin was telling his acquaintances over the phone that he would like to help Ukraine, where he was born. Artyom Kamardin and Yegor Shtovba, the defendants in the “Mayakovsky Case”, were sentenced to 7 and 5.5 years of imprisonment, respectively.

This month, 44 OVD-Info lawyers helped 77 defendants in 61 criminal «anti-war» cases in 43 cities. Our defence attorneys were dispatched to 4 interrogations in 4 cities and 2 searches in 2 cities.

Administrative cases

According to Mediazona, as of 22 January 2024

This month, Oleg Bukin, a city preservationist from Yekaterinburg, was fined 30,000 roubles (over US$ 330) under the «discreditation» article after being reported by an honorary Yekaterinburg citizen. A Pskov court fined a local resident, Alena Timasheva, 30,000 roubles because of her messages in the residential complex chat group about her neighbour serviceman. Marina Tarbayeva from the Orenburg region was fined 30,000 roubles because of her anti-war message in the parents’ chat group. Discreditation was also detected in submissions to the Prosecutor’s office: Aleksandr Postnikov from Stary Oskol was fined 40,000 roubles (US$ 445) because of his 12-page submission. Having familiarized themselves with the document, law-enforcement officials concluded that it discredited the Russian army.

This month, OVD-Info defence attorneys were involved in 20 «anti-war» administrative cases. 

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Extrajudicial pressure

Anna Tarasenkova, the manager of a community centre from Porkhov (the Pskov region), apologised for a song by Verka Serduchka that had played at the centre dance party. In Voronezh, restaurant «Ampir» issued an official apology to Russian servicemen: prior to that the establishment had received hate messages on social media for refusing to let in people in military uniform, who claimed to have come back from the front. 

Science journalist Asya Kazantseva had to move from Russia to Georgia following the cancellation of her lectures, and also because she was bullied for her anti-war statements. The bullying started after member of the State Duma Andrey Lugovoy had published her home address online.

Archpriest Aleksey Uminsky from Moscow, known for his anti-war position, was dismissed from his post at the Moscow Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Khokhly and banned from service. Archimandrite Cyril Govorun, who spoke out against the war, was removed from the clergy.

Daria Kozyreva from St. Petersburg was expelled from St. Petersburg State University because of an administrative case against her for discrediting the Russian army.

On 11 January 2024, Sergey Medvedev, a deputy of the Perm Municipal Duma, was stripped of his mandate and expelled from the Communist Party faction in the State Duma as well as from the party itself because of his anti-war post in VKontakte. In Mari El, deputy Anton Sokolov was stripped on his mandate. He was the only deputy to speak out against the war. Persecuting deputies for their anti-war remarks is not a new practice: OVD-Info is aware of at least 15 deputies facing «anti-war» charges. At least 6 other deputies have been expelled from their parties and stripped of deputy status because of their anti-war statements, while 4 others have received threats because they signed an anti-war petition.

Blocking and censorship

According to Roskomsvoboda

For example, this month Roskomnadzor blocked an additional domain of the Diskurs project, an article stating that the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Azov Assault Brigade allegedly receive funding from Russian citizens, as well as several online libraries. 

Also, this month the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dissolved the Information Agency »Khakassia». Shortly before the claim for dissolution was filed, the agency published a story about Nadezhda Uzunova, a community activist from Khakassia, who participated in Vladimir Putin’s meeting with mothers of military personnel taking part in the Special Military Operation, even though her own children did not go to the war.

LINKS TO OTHER OVD-INFO DATA AND REPORTS

• Wartime repression reports. December 2023, November 2023, October 2023, September 2023, August 2023, July 2023, June 2023, May 2023, April 2023, March 2023, February 2023, January 2023, December 2022, October 2022, September 2022, August 2022, July 2022, June 2022
• Report in Russian «No war. How the Russian authorities are fighting anti-war protests»
• Report in Ukrainian «Ні війні»
• Guide «The anti-war case»
• The input of information in reply to the call for submissions: Challenges to freedom of opinion and expression in times of conflicts and disturbances.
• The Report on Civil Rights and Freedoms of Children
• Report «Blocking Internet resources as a tool of political censorship»
• Project on the law on «foreign agents» — «Inoteka».
• Report «How the authorities use cameras and facial recognition against protesters»
• Reports of OVD-Info and other organizations on the compliance of the Russian Federation with its international obligations in the field of human rights.
• Information on the human rights situation in Russia for the OSCE Moscow Mechanism.