ABC Moscow report on repressions, January-March 2015

We will tell you about a hunger strike and refuse of collaboration of Alexey Sutuga, refuses of courts to grant parole to “Bolotnoe Case” prisoners, new criminal case for “praising terrorism” against Ilya Romanov and unclear citizenship of Alexander Kolchenko. If you think that we have missed something in this article, or you know about other cases of repressions, please write us to abc-msk << riseup.net.

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Counter-extremism bulletin

Ivanovo city

Anarchist Elizaveta Lisitsina was sentenced to a fine of 100000 RUR for reposting a social media message from Anarcho-News group of Russian facebook equivalent Vk.com, in Spring of 2014. She was charged for Russian Criminal Code article 280 part 1 (“Public calls for performing extremist activities”), and the case was investigated by FSB. Elizaveta is known as an active participant of local movement, she participated in solidarity actions with struggling health-care workers, organised movie screenings on the “Bolotnoe Case” and solidarity pickets.

A quote from Lisitsina's speech in court: “Assumption that a tiny text of a few lines could prompt someone to any actions is extremely surprising for me. I respect people, both familiar and unfamiliar to me. I am assured that they have their own opinion and would not change it after reading any text. A text might be a subject of discussion, but every person defines ones actions oneself, and takes personal response for these actions".
There is a fundraising drive going on to raise 32000 rubles (around 640 euros) of fines. Paypal account is [email protected], for other means to pass money check these guidelines in Russian: https://vk.com/wall85224982_31356

Solidarity group in VK.com: http://vk.com/club68247029
Details on this case(In Russian): http://www.zona.media/story/ivanovo-280/

Rostov Region

Two anarchists have been repressed by Counter-Extremism Center. Elizaveta C. and Igor Kulagin are charged according to article 282 of Russian Penal Code. They are charged with spreading leaflets against police and government officials that are "sowing discord", they have been allegedly spreading. Their houses were searched, all office equipment and political press was seized. Center “E” officials were very interested of “who pays you?” and “whether they have any ties with Ukraine and USA?”. Both activists are now out on bail.
An interview with Elizaveta Found in VK.COM (in Russian)
Extremism case due to 'extremist leaflets' has been initiated in Rostov Region:
https://ovdinfo.org/interviews/2015/02/10/naydennye-vkontakte-v-rostovskoy-oblasti-zaveli-delo-za-ekstremizm-v-listovkah

Tomsk

A criminal case (article 282) has been initiated against antifascist Egor Alexeev. He is accused of publishing a video provoking "hate and enmity" on his social media page. Egor is currently out on bail, investigation is not finished yet, nevertheless, he has been already included in a list of "organizations and persons, who are known to be involved in extremist activities and terrorism", which means he will have major problems when dealing with banks and other financial institutions.

Egor's Support Group https://vk.com/saveegor

Vladivostok

Frunzenskii district court has satisfied a suit from Primorskii Krai public prosecutor's department and declared book of artist and publicist Ilya Falkovsky and journalist Alexander Litoy “Shock troops against Putin” extremist. Court has made such decision despite of examination made by Primorsk laboratory of forensic examination of Justice Department, which concluded that there are no signs of calls to extremism in the book. The book reports on actions of modern Russian extremists, from Islamist radicalsto neo-nazis.

Saratov

Administrative case has been started against journalist and antifascist Sergey Vilkov (art. 20.3 of Administrative Offences Code of Russian Federation — propaganda of Nazi symbols) after publishing a collage containing a Swastika on a social media page. Charges were filed by Counter-Extremism center officials from Saratov Region. The same office did charge antifascist's friend Oleg Puzyrev with a similar offense. Several months ago Vilkov was brutally beaten by nationalists, who allegedly received an order to do this from a major official and businessman.

A national-bolshevik Alexander Shelkovenkov reported (in Russian) about “old friends” of anarchists – center-E officials known as Okopny and Ulybka (Smile):http://yodnews.ru/2015/02/26/shelkovenkov As the do not divide political activists according to their ideologies, the story would be interesting and useful for all of us.

News from prisons

Antifascist Alexei Sutuga (aka “Socrates”), who was sentenced to 3 years and one month of prison colony, for a fight with young nationalists, was transferred to Irkutsk region. He refused to do household work in prison (which could reduce the term in prison), unlike neo-nazis Maxim Martsinkevich and Roman Zheleznov, as such form of collaboration with prison administration is impossible for an anarchist. Alexey is 29 years old. His prison term will end only in May 2017.March 17th, Sutuga proclaimed a hunger strike in jail, demanding to return his letters and books which were taken away from him, and send him to the prison colony from closed prison. March 22nd Sutuga was sent to prison colony #14 in Angarsk.

Human-rights center “Memorial” proclaimed Alexei a political prisoner 20th of March. Alexey has a family out of prison—a wife and a child, they live in Ukraine. His spouse is studying for a PhD and raises a child. Cost of flight tickets for his wife and son to Angarsk and back is about 60000 RUR (1200 euros). Only one long-term meeting is allowed every 3 months. Alexeis family needs money for parcels to the prison colony. Alexey's prison address is not known yet, you can write mail to him using Rosuznik website: http://rosuznik.org/write-letter
Alexey Gaskarov, who was sentenced to 3.5 years during the second wave of “Bolotnoe Case” courts has been sent to Prison Colony #6 of Novomoskovk, Tula Region. He was accused of violence towards cops and participation in a riot. Along with other prisoner, Andrei Barabanov, Gaskarov appealed to the court against the sentence for attacking cops as excessive one. Both prisoners insist that they have been punished twice.

News on Gaskarov's case: https://avtonom.org/taxonomy/term/5970

Support website:
http://gaskarov.info/

Prison address:
301654, Russia, Tul'skaja oblast', g. Novomoskovsk, ul. Central'naja, 27, IK-6 UFSIN, otrjad 5, Gaskarovu Alekseju Vladimirovichu, 85 g.r. (18.06.1985)

You can also write to him using Rosuznik site: http://rosuznik.org/write-letter
Stepan Zimin and Alexei Polikhovich are still in prison colonies. Unfortunately, a court in Ryazan Region refused to release Polikhovich on parole, a court in Tula Region refused to release Zimin on parole.
Zimin's address: 301654, Russia, Tul'skaja oblast', g. Novomoskovsk, ul. Central'naja, 27, IK-6 UFSIN, 11 otrjad, Ziminu Stepanu Jur'evichu, 1992 g.r.

You can also write to him using Rosuznik site: http://rosuznik.org/write-letter Polikhovich address: 301654, Russia, Tul'skaja oblast', g. Novomoskovsk, ul. Central'naja, 27, IK-6 UFSIN, 11 otrjad, Ziminu Stepanu Jur'evichu, 1992 g.r.

You can also write to him using Rosuznik site: http://rosuznik.org/write-letter

Bolotnoe case goes on

In spite of lots of sentences, Bolotnoe case goes continues to expand. February 25th , Basmanny court of Moscow has put 24-year engineer Ivan Nepomnyaschikh under home arrest till April 6th . He was accused in rioting and violence towards an official. February 15th , a court prolongated a term of compulsory ambulatory psychiatric therapy for Mikhail Kosenko. Russian government does not agree that criminal prosecution of participants of May 6th 2012 rally is a violation of a freedom of gathering, despite the fact that a conformal route of the march has been changed.

Alexander Kolchenko case

Alexander Kolchenko was arrested in Crimea in May 2014 together with famous Ukrainian film-maker Oleg Sentsov and two local “pro-ukrainian” activists — Gennady Afanasiev and Alexei Chirnii. They have been accused of performing and preparing “terrorist attacks”: according FSB, they did arsons of offices of “Crimean Russian Community” and “United Russia” in April 2014 (doors and windows were damaged by fire, no one harmed), and allegedly prepared to explode “Eternal Fire” memorial and Vladimir Lenin monument. They can be sentenced to 10-20 years due to terrorism accusations. As a court of Simferopol refused a claim to reserve Ukrainian citizenship for Kolchenko, he has lost a possibility to meet with Ukrainian consul.
Address forsupport mail mail: 111020, Russia, Moskva, Lefortovskij Val, dom 5, p/ja 201, Kol'chenko Aleksandru Aleksandrovichu, 1989 g.r. You can also write to him using Rosuznik site: http://rosuznik.org/write-letter

Case of Ilya Romanov

A new case has been initiated against Ilia Romanov, who has been charged with terrorism. He is accused of advocating terrorism in public. December 8, 2012, Romanov was interviewed in Donetsk by “representatives of resistance forces of South-East”, just after his release after a 10-year sentence. For this interview Ilya may be sentenced up to 7 years.

October 26th 2013 Ilya received a trauma after a cracker detonated in his hand. His hand was then amputated. He was accused of storing explosives and an attempt to perform a terrorist attack. FSB tries to prove terrorist pretext using two files, allegedly found on his computer. Ilya says, that cops wrote these files to his hard drive. One file contains illiterate lashing about authorities, other is a mock-up of a zine headed as “Arian Terror. A magazine for practical training of white terrorists”. Romanov is a well-educated person and has been always known as anti-fascist.

Romanov demands to initiate a criminal case against cops for their threatening. He claims, that officers from Center-E took him from pretrial detention for “a conversation” during that they have offended him, threatened to kill Romanov and to make live of his close relatives unbearable.
Details on the new case against Romanov (in Russian): http://www.zona.media/story/ariyskiy-terror/
Address for mail: 603098, Russia, N.Novgorod, pr. Gagarina, 26 «A», SIZO-1, Romanovu Il'e Jeduardovichu, 1967 g.r.

You can also write to him using Rosuznik site: http://rosuznik.org/write-letter

Cops at a hip-hop gig and other news

Igor Kharchenko,an antifascist wrongful sentenced to 3.5 years after being accused of “a fight with nationalists“ was released in January.
Irina Lipskaya was interviewed to meduza about her almost two years in pretrial detention for anti-fascist activities:
https://meduza.io/feature/2015/01/17/mam-ne-perezhivay-godik-posizhu-i-vyydu
A flat of sister of a Philip Galtsov who had to escape from Russia was raided by Center-E officers headed by officer Kirill Revyakov. They wanted to know, how they could contact with the activist. He has not been registered at this address, nor lived there. Galtsov has told that his house where he lived before leaving Russia, has been visited twice. The last time cops came together with journalists from LifeNews TV-channel, a famous mouthpiece of government propaganda.

February 22nd , Moscow, A fund-raising hip-hop gig in Jerry Rubin Club was raided by police. The confiscated all the stuff that resembled self-defense weapons. Then 51 persons were brought to local police station “to check them for involvement to crimes”. Cop's questions included relationships of detained people to political movements and subcultures, all were released at late night. Apparently cops had decided to update their files, as many visitors, illiterate regarding their rights, did not refused to be photographed and fingerprinted.

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Prepared by ABC-Moscow Collective

P.S. ABC-Belarus website writes on repressions in Belarus. Their site is blocked by some ISP's in former Soviet Union, but you may use TorBrowser: https://www.torproject.org/projects/torbrowser.html.en): http://abc-belarus.org/