Source: www.forum18.org
Date: October 18, 2022
The right to believe, to worship and witness
The right to change one's belief or religion
The right to join together and express one's belief
==============================
Russian Orthodox (ROCOR) priest Nikandr Pinchuk became the first person to
receive a criminal conviction for opposing Russia's war in Ukraine on
religious grounds. A court in the Urals fined him two months' average local
wage for a social media post condemning the "horde of the Antichrist"
attacking Ukraine. Neither Verkhoturye District Court nor Prosecutor's
Office replied to Forum 18's questions on why expressing religious views on
the war in Ukraine should be considered "discreditation" of the Armed
Forces and incur such a large fine.
RUSSIA: First criminal conviction for opposing war in Ukraine on religious
grounds
https://www.forum18.org/archiv
By Victoria Arnold, Forum 18
A Russian Orthodox priest from the Urals has become the first person to
receive a criminal conviction for opposing Russia's war in Ukraine on
religious grounds. A court in Sverdlovsk Region fined Fr Nikandr Pinchuk
about two months' average local wage on 17 October for allegedly
"discrediting" the Russian Armed Forces for a second time. He was punished
for a social media post of under 140 words in length, which condemned the
"horde of the Antichrist" attacking Ukraine.
Fr Nikandr is a hieromonk (a monk who is also a priest) and a member of a
branch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) which did not
join the Moscow Patriarchate with other parts of ROCOR in 2007.
Sverdlovsk Region Investigative Committee opened a case against him under
Criminal Code Article 280.3 ("Public actions aimed at discrediting the use
of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in order to protect the
interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens, [and] maintain
international peace and security") on 29 June. Fr Nikandr had already been
fined under the lesser administrative version of this offence in March (see
below).
Investigators promised Fr Nikandr that they would lodge a request to have
the criminal charge against him dropped upon payment of a compensatory
judicial fine, he told Forum 18 on 17 October (see below). This did not
happen, however, leaving Fr Nikandr with a criminal record and a fine ten
times larger to pay.
Forum 18 asked Verkhoturye District Court and Verkhoturye District
Prosecutor's Office:
- why Fr Nikandr had not been released from criminal liability, given that
he had pleaded guilty to a first-time minor offence;
- and why the expression of religious views on the war in Ukraine should be
considered "discreditation" of the Russian Armed Forces and incur such a
large fine.
Forum 18 had received no reply by the end of the working day in Sverdlovsk
Region of 18 October (see below).
Sverdlovsk Region Investigative Committee has repeatedly refused to answer
Forum 18's questions about the case (see below).
The trial of another ROCOR priest – Fr Ioann Kurmoyarov – is due to
resume in St Petersburg on 14 November. Baptist and Communist municipal
deputy Nina Belyayeva fled abroad after a criminal case was opened against
her (see below).
Among the thousands of Russians detained and taken to court for protesting
against the war, a small number have done so from a religious perspective
or using explicitly religious imagery. They have included a Russian
Orthodox (Moscow Patriarchate) priest, who was fined one month's average
local wage in March under Administrative Code Article 20.3.3 for speaking
out against Russia's war against Ukraine on a religious basis. A Moscow
Patriarchate deacon was fined a similar amount in April
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
the Administrative Code have followed (see forthcoming F18News article).
Other criminal prosecutions
The Investigative Committee has charged two people under Criminal Code
Article 207.3 ("Public dissemination, under the guise of credible
statements, of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed
Forces of the Russian Federation in order to protect the interests of the
Russian Federation and its citizens [and] maintain international peace and
security, as well as about the exercise by state bodies of the Russian
Federation of their powers outside the territory of the Russian Federation
for those purposes") for their criticism of Russia's invasion of Ukraine
from a religious perspective.
Fr Ioann Kurmoyarov – a member of the same ROCOR branch as Fr Nikandr –
is on trial in St Petersburg
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
his YouTube channel in which he criticises the Moscow Patriarchate's
support for the war, suggests the "aggressors" will not go to heaven, and
argues that "Every condemnation of this aggression, this war on Ukraine, is
a spiritual matter. All Christians should do it on principle". Fr Ioann's
trial is due to resume on 14 November.
Baptist and Communist municipal deputy Nina Belyayeva was the first person
known to face criminal prosecution for opposing the war in Ukraine on
religious grounds (https://www.forum18.org/archi
She left Russia in early April, shortly after the meeting of Semiluk
District Council in which she denounced the invasion of Ukraine as a war
crime, stating that "murdering other people" and invading "the territory of
another state, which has nothing to do with the goal of self-defence of
one's own state" have "nothing in common with Christian beliefs".
"They deceived me"
On 17 October at Verkhoturye District Court, Fr Nikandr (born Yevgeny
Igoryevich Pinchuk, 7 December 1971) pleaded guilty to repeatedly
"discrediting" the Russian Armed Forces. Judge Aleksey Ladygin handed him a
fine of 100,000 Roubles, about two months' average local wage, according to
the written verdict seen by Forum 18.
This is the minimum fine under Criminal Code Article 280.3, Part 1, and the
judge ruled that it could be paid in ten monthly instalments of 10,000
Roubles. Nevertheless, "for me, this is an unbearable sum", Fr Nikandr told
Forum 18 on 17 October, adding that he earns "barely 15,000 Roubles a
month". He noted that he was also paying off his earlier administrative
fine in instalments as he was unable to do so in full, "and these creatures
have put an even bigger burden on me".
During the investigation, Fr Nikandr was under an obligation to appear when
summoned by investigators, but was not detained or put under house arrest.
Fr Nikandr explained to Forum 18 that the investigator in his case and his
state-appointed lawyer had "promised" that they would lodge a petition to
have the case considered under Criminal Code Article 76.2. This stipulates
that people who have committed a minor or moderate-severity offence for the
first time may be "released from criminal liability" by a court if they pay
a fine which compensates for the damages caused (Criminal Code Article
280.3, Part 1 is considered a minor offence, as it carries a maximum
penalty of three years' imprisonment).
Fr Nikandr believes that such a judicial fine should have been between
6,000 and 10,000 Roubles.
Instead, "they deceived me", Fr Nikandr told Forum 18. "In court, it was
all different, there was no petition, although the case was considered in a
'special' procedure." Asked why the investigator would have deceived him,
he replied "because they have such a job – to torment innocent people".
The court verdict makes no mention of possible release from liability, and
instead states that Fr Nikandr, "while familiarising himself with the
materials of the criminal case, lodged a request for the imposition of a
sentence in a special procedure without a trial, having recognised his
guilt in full under the charge against him".
Such a procedure is governed by Criminal Procedural Code Article 314, and
provides for a simplified examination of minor and medium-severity cases,
carried out with the consent of the defendant, in which the defendant
pleads guilty, the judge is satisfied that the evidence presented in the
case file supports the charge, and no questioning of witnesses or
examination of the evidence in court takes place.
The verdict notes that defence lawyer Yury Molvinskikh and state prosecutor
O. Netyosov (of Verkhoturye District Prosecutor's Office) supported Fr
Nikandr's request for the special procedure.
"Recognition of guilt is for them recognition of the fact that I posted the
comments," Fr Nikandr told Forum 18, adding that he did not admit guilt in
the sense of remorse for supporting Ukraine. He is considering whether or
not to appeal.
Forum 18 wrote to Verkhoturye District Court and Verkhoturye District
Prosecutor's Office before the start of the working day in Sverdlovsk
Region on 18 October, asking:
- why Fr Nikandr had not been released from criminal liability, given that
he had pleaded guilty to a first-time minor offence;
- and why the expression of religious views on the war in Ukraine should be
considered "discreditation" of the Russian Armed Forces and incur such a
large fine.
Forum 18 received no reply by the end of the working day in Sverdlovsk
Region of 18 October.
Sverdlovsk Region Investigative Committee has repeatedly refused to answer
Forum 18's questions (https://www.forum18.org/archi
about the case.
"God is not mocked"
Sverdlovsk Region Investigative Committee opened the case under Criminal
Code Article 280.3, Part 1
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
134-word post which Fr Nikandr made on his now-deleted VKontakte page on
the night of 29/30 March. This post was entitled "God is not mocked", and
was "dedicated to evaluating the performance of [the 'special military
operation']", according to the court verdict.
The verdict states that Fr Nikandr did this "intentionally, knowing the
criminal character of his actions, wishing to express his negative opinion
of the special military operation conducted by the Armed Forces of the
Russian Federation in Ukraine to an unlimited circle of people and to call
for [its] obstruction".
Fr Nikandr's post, now deleted, described how the "horde of the Antichrist"
was retreating from northern Ukraine and heading for the south, "but even
there, the Christian army is waiting for them, which will meet the demonic
force and will not allow it to capture the south of Ukraine. An example of
perseverance is one (!) regiment (about a thousand people), which has been
holding the city of Mary, Mariupol, for more than a month".
Fr Nikandr wondered what the "devil's work [besovshchina]" would do
"against the Cross and the Most Holy Mother of God, who keeps her land from
enslavement by adversaries", and concluded with a prayer: "May Our Lord
Jesus Christ, through the prayers of His Most Pure Mother, cast down all
enemies, visible and invisible. Amen."
Judge Ladygin decided that Fr Nikandr "does not present such a danger that
would merit giving him a punishment related to deprivation of liberty, [and
his] correction is possible without isolating him from society" – this,
in addition to his guilty plea, his and his relatives' state of health, and
his "active contribution" to the investigation, led the judge to hand down
the minimum fine.
Once the fine is paid off, Fr Nikandr's criminal record (sudimost, the
state of being a convicted person) will last for another year. Sudimost
carries a range of consequences for the convicted person
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
holding particular jobs to the risk of harsher punishment if convicted
again.
"I want to clarify that they are trying to repress me precisely because of
my rejection of the 'special operation', which they classify as
'discrediting the Russian Armed Forces'," Fr Nikandr commented to Forum 18
on 4 July (https://www.forum18.org/archi
was formally charged. "I am a priest and have the right to denounce evil,
regardless of who is involved and the political situation."
Earlier administrative fine
Criminal Code Article 280.3, Part 1 punishes the same offence of
"discrediting" the Russian Armed Forces as Administrative Code Article
20.3.3, if a person commits another offence within one year.
On 14 March, Verkhoturye District Court handed Fr Nikandr a fine of 35,000
Roubles (https://www.forum18.org/archi
Administrative Code Article 20.3.3 for criticising Russia's war in Ukraine
from a Christian perspective in comments in a local VKontakte group. The
fine represents about three weeks' average local wage. The court decision
entered legal force on 25 March, according to the court website.
Because he was unable to pay the fine within the stipulated period of 60
days, bailiffs took Fr Nikandr to court again under Administrative Code
Article 20.25, Part 1 ("Failure to pay an administrative fine on time") and
Verkhoturye District Magistrate's Court No. 1 sentenced him on 9 June to 40
hours' community service (obyazatelniye raboty).
The District Court decision of 14 March, seen by Forum 18, does not quote
Fr Nikandr's comments directly, but notes that they "point out that the
actions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on the territory of
Ukraine are directed against Ukraine's independence, that the Russian
Federation has carried out an attack on Ukraine, is shelling cities,
purposefully destroying Orthodox churches, etc.".
In court, the decision added, Fr Nikandr stated that he had "expressed his
opinion, which he considers correct. He believes that the Armed Forces of
the Russian Federation are in Ukraine illegally, that [they] invaded the
territory of another independent state in violation of international law.
He considers this a crime". (END)
Full reports on freedom of thought, conscience and belief in Russia
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
For more background see Forum 18's survey of the general state of freedom
of religion and belief in Russia
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
18's survey of the dramatic decline in this freedom related to Russia's
Extremism Law (https://www.forum18.org/archi
A personal commentary by the Director of the SOVA Center for Information
and Analysis (https://www.sova-center.ru), Alexander Verkhovsky, about the
systemic problems of Russian "anti-extremism" laws
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Forum 18's compilation of Organisation for Security and Co-operation in
Europe (OSCE) freedom of religion or belief commitments
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
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