When:
27.04.2023 @ 21:15 – 22:15
Europe/Helsinki Timezone
2023-04-27T21:15:00+03:00
2023-04-27T22:15:00+03:00
About the case: Pavel Golikov is accused of violating the right to freedom of conscience and religion (Part 1 of Article 148 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and inciting hatred (Paragraph “a” of Part 2 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). According to the investigation, in April 2020, Golikov produced an offensive video in which he made negative comments about Orthodoxy, mocked the prayer “In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.” Additionally, Golikov allegedly threatened with violence in connection with religious affiliation, demonstrating a hatchet, machete, and tear gas “Shpaga” in the trunk of his car, and expressed an intention to “hunt Christians.”
The case is being heard in the Petrodvoretsky District Court of St. Petersburg, with Judge Marina Nikolaevna Sedykh presiding
I entered the court only after the bailiffs at the entrance called the courtroom and got permission to let me in. I initially took a seat in the front row for the public, but upon the request of Judge Sedykh, I had to move to a row further back because the defendant was seated in the front row. Other individuals involved in the case, including Golikov, his defense attorneys Zolotarev and Zhuravlev, and the prosecutor, were seated at the attorney table.
The judge verified the presence and informed the participants that none of the summoned witnesses had appeared. Two of the witnesses, who were employees of the “E” Center (Main Department for Combating Extremism of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation), were summoned through their supervisor, and the responsibility for ensuring the presence of the other two, who were not official personnel, was placed on the prosecution. This was because the materials provided by the investigator contained incomplete or non-existent addresses for these witnesses, and there was no information about their phone numbers.
The prosecutor requests the disclosure of the testimony of the unavailable employees of Center “E” in the absence of objections from the defense. Golikov’s defense attorneys object, the state prosecutor does not insist, and the court leaves the motion without consideration.
Then, “not to waste time”, the prosecutor submits a motion to change the order of reviewing the evidence – the disclosure of the criminal case file.
The parties do not object, and the court grants the motion.
The prosecutor was disclosing the case materials, often referring only to the titles of documents without details and conveying the content in a few phrases, rather than reading out the text. From time to time, the prosecutor’s diction becomes slurred, and the speech begins to sound rather unintelligible. At times, the prosecutor quickly flips through many pages in a row without reading the text. The court has reviewed various pieces of evidence and documentation in Pavel Golikov’s case, which include:
- A report by investigator Velikanova stating that there are “signs of a crime as per Article 148, Part 1, of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, in Golikov’s actions.”
- Explanations provided by Pavel Golikov and a copy of his passport.
- A character reference for Golikov from S.M. Ilyin, the administrator of the “Lomonosov” municipal district and a journalist. The reference mentions Golikov’s active participation in various charitable activities, including fundraising for clothing for those in need.
- Positive character references for Golikov from the chief editor of “Petergof Life” and a private entrepreneur named Agayev.
- Responses from the local narcology department and psychiatric department stating that Golikov is not under medical observation, has not sought medical assistance, and is not receiving any treatment.
- A protocol of inspection for various items, reproduction of files using a Windows Media Player, images, and photographs that include machetes and axes. A transcription of song lyrics is also provided along with a photo table.
- A report by officer Alexeev stating that on June 5, 2020, a video by Pavel Golikov was discovered on the VKontakte social network in the “We Are Lomonosov Residents” group. The video features the Mikhailovsky Cathedral in Lomonosov and shows an individual, the operator, displaying a hatchet, knife, and tear gas “Shpaga”, while making comments and extremist calls, including expressing intentions to hunt Christians.
- A reference from Officer Makarov of the 4th Department of the Center “E” of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region, containing similar information about the discovery of the video recording and a description of its content.
- An inspection report of internet resources by Officer Korneev. The report contains information about Pavel Golikov’s VKontakte profile, including the number of publications, photographs, and friends.
- Printouts of photographs from Golikov’s social media account.
- An inspection report of internet resources. Golikov’s VKontakte [note: Russian social media site] page contains a video in which the author of the video expresses negative views about the Russian Orthodox Church.
The defense attorney for Pavel Golikov raises concerns regarding the two most recently presented documents. These documents mention that the inspection was conducted using the “ARM-monitoring” system. During the previous session, questions were asked of the law enforcement officers, and they were unaware of what this system entailed. The issue at hand is that “ARM” refers to automated workstations, indicating that the information may have been collected by a group of individuals who are not operational officers and are not subjects of the Operational-Search Activities (ORD). Therefore, the defense attorney requests permission to pose questions to the other two employees of the Center “E” regarding this matter.
Judge: Well, ask… Now what’s the…
Defense attorney: I was just pointing that out.
Prosecutor: You did the right thing.
The prosecutor continues disclosing the case materials.
- Expert report from St. Petersburg State University on information materials requested by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Petrodvoretsky District of St. Petersburg. The expert report indicates signs of justifying public actions expressing clear disrespect for society, committed with the aim of insulting the religious feelings of believers. There are signs of humiliation and insult to a group and its representatives based on religious affiliation, as well as indications of propagating the inferiority of individuals based on their religious affiliation. The materials also contain threats of aggressive, violent, and cruel actions directed against individuals due to their religious affiliation. However, there are no calls for public actions to insult the religious feelings of believers, nor are there signs of justifying the necessity for hostile or hateful attitudes towards individuals based on their religious, social, national, or linguistic affiliation.
- A report prepared by Senior Investigator Velykanova, stating that there are signs of an offense under Part “a” of Article 282, Part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation in Golikov’s actions.
- Search protocol with the participation of Golikov and witnesses: a black T-shirt with inscriptions, an object resembling a double-sided ax, photographs featuring Golikov with a girl and near a post, two laptops (HP, Lenovo), and a flash drive were discovered.
- Protocol of interrogation.
- Report by an authorized Center “E” officer, Nagaynik, regarding the detention of Golikov on suspicion of committing a crime.
- Copy of Golikov’s passport and a certificate of no criminal record.
- Judicial examination of cold edged weapons, which confirms that the item presented for examination was homemade and resembles a contact-type short-hafted cutting weapon similar to an ax. Protocol of examination of documents and ax, photo attached to the protocol, Golikov’s sign-off on receiving the ax.
- Forensic chemical examination, which established that the presented tablets are a potent substance, which is included in the list of potent substances for the purposes of Article 234 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. This substance was destroyed according to the act.
- Additional forensic-linguistic examination indicating the presence of verbal aggression and threats in the phrase “we’re going on a wild christian manhunt, get ready, ***.”
- Psychiatric commission’s report stating that Golikov does not suffer from any mental disorders.
- Protocol for the seizure of an optical disc with requested information, a photo table, and a cover letter from LLC “VKontakte.”
- Two protocols of inspection of items and documents, and a receipt signed by Golikov for the seized items, not recognized as material evidence.
These materials are part of the evidence and documentation presented in the case against Pavel Golikov.
Judge Sedykh points out that the case materials indicate that the Lenovo laptop was placed in storage, while there is also a sign-off statement from Golikov acknowledging the confiscation of the laptops.
Golikov explains that he was returned two laptops, both of which were damaged, with one suffering significant damage during the search.
Judge: Well, these questions…
Golikov: Well, yes, it’s already unprovable. Also, yeah, they didn’t return the Lenovo.
After the disclosure of the case materials is concluded, the parties come to an agreement that, for today, the possibilities of the judicial investigation have been exhausted. The court decides to summon witnesses again and postpone the hearing until May 16, 2022.
