About the case: V. Tyurkin is charged under Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offense of Russia for posting Soviet posters on the social network Vkontakte.
The case is being heard by the Kuntsevo District Court of Moscow. The judge is Elena Gennadievna Lebedeva.
On April 21st, the case concerning the discrediting of the Russian Armed Forces against V. Tyurkin was considered.
The interests of the offender are represented by attorney M. Biryukov, and an assistant prosecutor is also involved in the case.
The lawyer requests preliminary access to the case materials before the start of the hearing, and the judge does not object, granting half an hour for review.
The presiding judge, disclosing the background of the case. Tyurkin is charged under Part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offense of Russia, although on the website, it is erroneously stated as Part 2 of the same article.
The judge asks the offender if he had any previous charges under Article 20 of the Code of Administrative Offense of Russia within the past year, to which Tyurkin responds that he has not been charged before.
The judge declares the rights.
The representative of Tyurkin requests the questioning of the prosecutor’s assistant, Drobin, who compiled the report, in order to ascertain precisely what actions of the offender discredit the Russian army. In the absence of an expert opinion, this is considered important.
The prosecutor’s assistant objects, stating that the request is premature as the circumstances of the case have not yet been investigated.
The court proceeds to the deposition of witness A. V. Datsukh, an employee of Center “E”.
The witness explains that they received a request from the prosecutor’s office, based on which they conducted an analysis of photographs on the VKontakte social network. A post with anti-war posters was placed on the network, as well as insults directed towards the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and disapproval of a special operation.
Judge: What specific insults were used?
Daсzuh: The word “крякнулся” [note: roughly translates to “cracked” or “lost it”] was used.
Lawyer: Do you have a linguistic education?
Daсzuh: No, I have a legal education.
…
Judge: Is there free access to the page?
Daсzuh: The page is still freely accessible.
The attorney files a motion, requesting the summoning of the prosecutor’s assistant, Mr. Drobin:
– In Drobin’s report, it is stated that this information discredits the army. We have heard the witness, Daatsuk, who claims that the Soviet posters discredit the Russian army. Is the entire text discrediting, or are there specific phrases? It’s not obvious. It is impossible to declare Tyurkin guilty based on a neutral text, in my opinion, it does not comply with the norms of the law.
The court clarifies when it is possible to summon Drobin – his colleague explains that he is on vacation.
The court ruled to grant the motion and postpone the hearing until May 16th.
