Lawyers see law substitution with political persecutions in Stavropol schoolgirl’s case

Lawyers and a human rights defender have criticized the interpretation of the mention of Alexei Navalny as grounds for criminal prosecution. They treat it as an intimidation instrument, since the name and image of the opposition leader are not a manifestation of extremism.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the above girl became a defendant in a criminal case of vandalism after being detained on the anniversary of Navalny's death. On February 16, she was detained by law enforcers and then released, but a search was conducted in the house where her family lives. The reason for initiating a criminal case was the inscription "Navalny" in a bus stop.

According to the vandalism article, liability begins at the age of 14, Timur Filippov, a lawyer, has explained. In his opinion, the teenager's parents can be brought to administrative liability under the article on improper upbringing.

Initiation of this criminal case looks legally questionable and disproportionate to the act, Mr Filippov believes. "There is no sign of ‘damage to property’; criminal intent has not been established ... The conclusion about political or ideological hatred is made from the content of the inscription ... Such an approach destroys the presumption of innocence, turns the criminal law into an intimidation instrument and turns the law into a method of ideological persecution under the guise of combating minor violations," the lawyer has emphasized.

"This is, perhaps, a new practice, when they began punishing people for a person's portrait and surname. Since authorities failed to spark hostility among population towards the image of Navalny, they decided to make him dangerous," Mr Filippov has concluded.

The Navalny's name and photo have obviously become symbols of protest; and authorities are trying to stifle this protest, a lawyer for the “Memorial” Centre for Human Rights Defence (CHRD)* has stated.

*As reported on the website of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the reason for including on March 1, 2024, the unregistered "Memorial" Centre for Human Rights Defence (CHRD) into the roster of foreign agents was the spread of "inaccurate information aimed at creating a negative image of the Russian Federation, as well as the Russian Armed Forces."