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war crimes in Ukraine

The Tribunal for Putin (T4P) global initiative was set up in response to the all-out war launched by Russia against Ukraine in February 2022.

Legislators equate criticism of Russia's war against Ukraine with ‘terrorism and extremism’

16.12.2024   
Halya Coynash
A new law just passed has handed Russia’s FSB yet another “powerful weapon of persecution” against those who tell the truth about Russia’s war crimes and about Ukrainian territory under Russian occupation

Alexei Gorinov in court, June 2022 with a sign reading ’Do you still need this war’ Photo Alekxandra Astakhova, Mediazona

Alexei Gorinov in court, June 2022 with a sign reading ’Do you still need this war?’ Photo Alekxandra Astakhova, Mediazona

Russia’s State Duma has adopted a draft bill broadening the grounds for adding people to the so-called ‘Register of Terrorists and Extremists’.  This register, run by Russia’s financial monitoring authority, or Rosfinmonitoring, already contains a significant number of political prisoners, and will soon include those persecuted for criticizing Russia’s war against Ukraine and exposing its war crimes.  Inclusion on this register, which typically happens when a person is merely charged, but has not been convicted, carries with it significant restrictions, including the blocking of all bank accounts.

The new bill, passed in its final reading on 12 December, adds new repressive force to the charges rushed into law within ten days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.  On 4 March 2022, two new so-called ‘offences’ were added to Russia’s administrative code, and two – to the criminal code. 

The first of the criminal charges, introduced then, is under Article 280.3 of Russia’s criminal code and prosecutes for something termed “public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Russian Federation armed forces for the purpose of defending the interests of the RF and its citizens, upholding international peace and security [sic]”.  The charge, which carries a sentence of up to five years’ imprisonment, is especially shocking given that grounds for such criminal charges can be no more than that a person has faced two or more administrative prosecutions under Article 20.3.3 of Russia’s administrative code within the space of a year.  Such administrative prosecutions are very widely applied, including in occupied Crimea, with the pretexts used ranging from the words ‘No to war’ to the Ukrainian flag, national anthem or patriotic songs.

Article 207.3 of Russia’s criminal code claims to prosecute for “the public circulation of knowingly false information about the use of the RF armed forces for the purpose of defending the interests of the RF and its citizens, upholding international peace and security [sic]”

Although this is commonly referred to as prosecution “for fakes”, it is regularly used for long sentences (in principle up to 15 years) for telling the truth about Russia’s bombing of hospitals, residential buildings and other civilian targets, Russian atrocities in Bucha, etc.  The sentences are often particularly harsh because paragraph 2 of this article is applied on claim that the person acted “out of motives of ideological or political enmity’.  See, for example, details about the horrific sentences against Alexei Gorinov; Dmitry Talantov; Olga Smirnova and 68-year-old Ukrainian-born paediatrician Natalia Buyanova.  

The charges were later broadened to include those engaged in carrying out Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, including supposedly ‘voluntary formations’ like the notorious Wagner unit which actively recruited convicted murderers and other criminals to fight for money and a presidential pardon.

New repression

Up till now only those charged under Russia’s dangerously broad and repressive norms on so-called ‘extremism’ and ‘terrorism’ were added to the ‘Register of terrorists and extremists’, with this significantly increasing the financial difficulties, not only of those accused, but also of their families. 

The new bill, which Russian leader Vladimir Putin will undoubtedly sign into force, means that from 1 June 2025, all those accused or convicted of any ‘crimes’ alleged to have been committed “out of motives of political; ideological; racial; national or religious enmity” will also be added to the Register as will be those accused of genuine crimes, like murder).  As well as covering the new charges introduced to silence protest over Russia’s war against Ukraine, the new restrictions will also apply to other charges typically used against Ukrainians in occupied Crimea.  These are, for example, ‘demonstration of extremist symbols’, which has frequently been used to prosecute Crimeans, even for demonstrating the Ukrainian trident, as well as something claimed to be “actions aimed against the territorial integrity of the RF”.  The latter charge, under Article 280,1 of Russia’s criminal code, was introduced soon after Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea, and has been used to prosecute Crimean Tatars and other Ukrainians for correctly stating that Crimea is Ukrainian territory.

The claim about actions being motivated by ideological or political enmity has often been added merely to increase sentences in political trials (such as those against Memorial leader Oleg Orlov, Dmitry Talantov and others), and will now probably be used even more widely.  As Yevgeny Smirnov, lawyer for the human rights initiative Pyervy Otdel [First Department] explains, the new law does not only add new charges as justification for adding a person to the register of so-called ‘terrorists and extremists’, but also makes it possible to add anybody against whom ‘political or ideological enmity’ has been added as an aggravating factor.  “Such an aggravating circumstance can be used in accusing a person of literally any crime, for example, theft, ‘fakes’ about the army or state treason. The FSB will thus receive a powerful weapon for spreading extrajudicial persecution.”

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