Executive manager of the RCFS is interrogated as a suspect11.08.2005. Executive manager of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society and the editor-in-chief of ‘Pravozaschita” newspaper Stanislav Dmitrievsky was interrogated today at the prosecutor’s office of Nizhny Novgorod Region as a suspect. The interrogation lasted from 2 until 4 pm (Moscow time) and it was carried by a senior investigator Oleg Kirukov. Dmitrievsky’s lawyer Yury Sidorov was present at the interrogation. In the beginning of the interrogation the investigator informed Dmitirevsky that he was suspected of committing a crime that part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation refers to – “actions aimed at inciting hatred or hostility and at disparagement of either an individual or a group of people according to their gender, race, nationality, background, religious beliefs as well as belonging to any social group that are committed publicly or through mass media outlets”. He also acquainted Dmitrievsky and his lawyer with the resolution № 292 from 11 January 2005 to open a criminal case on signs of crime that Article 280 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation refers to (public incitement to extremist activities) and notified them that later the incriminated article was changed. The maximum penalty for the crimes that part 1 of Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation refers to is 2 years in prison.
The investigator didn’t ask any new questions in comparison with those that Dmitrievsky had had to answer before when he was regarded as a witness to the criminal case. He has not been put under any restraint. To answer the prosecutor’s question whether he agreed to the assumption that there were statements about superiority of the Chechen nation over the Russian nation in Maskhadov’s and Zakaev’s appeals that were published in “Pravozaschita” newspaper, Dmitrievsky told, “I consider these conclusions absurd. There isn’t a merest hint at such things in these publications. Otherwise, I would never have published them. And not due to the fact that it contradicts the law, but mainly because discrediting people on the grounds of their nationality, inciting to ethnic or religious hatred contradicts to my personal convictions. The Russian-Chechen Friendship Society was established in order to withstand these negative tendencies. These two appeals are absolutely tolerant. I published them with the aim to acquaint our readers with the point of view of the leaders of one of the sides of the conflict about its roots and ways of its peaceful reconciliation”. To answer the question about his attitude towards the policy of the Russian leadership in the North Caucasus, Dmitirevsky told, “This is a disastrous policy. It is disastrous not only regarding tiny Chechnya, but huge Russia too. The war waged in Chechnya in order to let Putin access the throne has resulted in curtailing democratic freedoms in Russia, establishment of the police state and general sliding the Russian society into fascism. According to the survey conducted by “Levada-Centre”, 58% of their respondents are supporting the slogan “Russia for Russians”. The number of Germans running on Fascist lines before Hitler came to power was even much less. Putin’s policy in the North Caucasus is going to lead Russia to disaster”.
As we reported earlier, As we reported earlier, on 11 January 2005, the prosecutor’s office of Nizhny Novgorod Region initiated a criminal case charging “The Pravosaschita” newspaper of publishing a statement made by the president of the unrecognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Aslan Maskhadov, in which he appealed to the European Parliament, and an appeal of his foreign representative Akhmed Zakaev to the Russian people. These two Chechen leaders called to the peaceful reconciliation of the Russian-Chechen armed conflict in their statements and expressed their opinions about its causes and reasons. Zakaev also called not to vote for a presidential contender Vladimir Putin at the coming elections as, in his opinion, the latter was supported by the party of war.
“The Pravozaschita” newspaper is a joint project of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society and Nizhny Novgorod Society for Human Rights. The editor-in-chief of the newspaper is Stanislav Dmitrievsky who is also the managing director of the RCFS and the editor-in-chief of the Information center at the RCFS. According to the Russian law, it’s him who is responsible for the compliance of the articles published in the newspaper with the norms of the Russian legislation. The case was initiated in reference to part 2 of article 280 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation that is public incitement to extremist activities through mass media outlets. The case was investigated by the FSB as this article is under its jurisdiction.
In April the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society appealed to specialists of the Independent Law Council of Experts (Moscow) to carry the legal expertise of the incriminated publications for the purpose of establishing signs of the crime that article 280 of the Criminal Code refers to. The expertise came to the conclusion that there were no signs of this crime in the aforementioned publications. This decision of the commission of experts was adduced to the case. The FSB carried its own linguistic expertise of the incriminated publications simultaneously with the Independent Law Council of Experts. It was carried by specialists from the Ministry of Justice. Their experts also came to the conclusion that there were no utterances that can be considered under jurisdiction of Article 280 in the two incriminated publications. However, they made a decision that there were signs of the crime that Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation refers to. This is inciting ethnic and religious hatred. As Article 282 of the Criminal Code is not under jurisdiction of the FSB, the case was sent back to the prosecutor’s office of Nizhny Novgorod Region in the last ten days of April. Dmitirevsky learnt about it on 25 April at the prosecutor’s office where he was summoned for another interrogation as a witness.
The leaders of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society are sure that all the attempts to find signs of the crimes indicated by both Article 280 and 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation are groundless, absurd and politically biased.
(The text was not edited by Prague Watchdog).
Source: Russian-Chechen Information Agency (B) |
