Source: www.forum18.org
Date: March 20, 2023
By Victoria Arnold, Forum 18
The criminal trial has begun in Tomsk of a musician and teacher who
allegedly "discredited" the Russian Armed Forces more than once in a year.
Anna Chagina appeared in court for the first time on 15 March – her next
hearing is due to take place on 11 April. If convicted, she could spend up
to three years in prison or have to pay a fine of up to 300,000 Roubles. In
the meantime, she remains under restrictions including a night-time curfew
and a ban on using the internet.
Chagina's first (administrative) conviction was for displaying a poster
reading "Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9)" at an anti-war protest
in Tomsk in March 2022, just two days after the new offence of
"discreditation" came into force (see below).
"Many times after [the arrest for the poster], I inwardly turned to these
words of Christ and realised that peacemaking begins with what is in a
person's heart," Chagina told Forum 18. "Happiness is when you become one
who can reconcile those who are warring. One who has come to terms with
oneself, with people, with Life. When you carry light and joy in yourself,
which spread to other people" (see below).
Investigators subsequently accused Chagina of posting anti-war materials on
social media and charged her under Criminal Code Article 280.3, Part 1
("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", when these take place more than once in twelve months) (see
below).
Although it remains unclear exactly which posts form the basis of the
prosecution, they appear to include texts and videos by religious
philosopher Nikolay Karpitsky, who has described wartime life in Ukraine
and discussed the Russian invasion from a Christian perspective (see
below).
ROCOR priest Fr Ioann Kurmoyarov – the only other person currently on
trial on criminal charges for opposing the war in Ukraine from a religious
perspective – remains in custody in St Petersburg's Kresty-2 prison after
the City Court refused his latest appeal against his detention on 15 March.
The next hearing in his case – under Criminal Code Article 207.3 ("Public
dissemination, under the guise of credible statements, of knowingly false
information on the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation") –
is due to take place on 10 April at Kalinin District Court (see below).
"In the SIZO [pre-trial detention centre], they generally refuse me medical
care," Fr Ioann told the court. "I have already written more than 15
applications to five doctors. My eyesight is deteriorating, my hearing is
deteriorating, I have hypertension, my knee joint is damaged. I ask for a
cardiologist, but they do nothing. I don't know if they [the SIZO
administration] are doing this on purpose or not" (see below).
Forum 18 tried to find out from the administration of St Petersburg's
Kresty-2 prison whether Fr Ioann has been refused necessary medical
attention and, if so, whether the refusal was the decision of doctors or of
the prison administration. However, telephones at the prison went
unanswered on 20 March. The United Nations (UN) Standard Minimum Rules for
the Treatment of Prisoners (known as the Mandela Rules) state that medical
decisions must be made by doctors (see below).
Fr Aleksandr Dombrovsky, against whom the FSB security service appears to
have opened a criminal case in January for his anti-war sermons, is to be
deprived of his priestly status by his Diocese. Fr Aleksandr is now living
outside Russia and has said that he has joined a different Orthodox
jurisdiction (see below).
Bryansk Region FSB denied to Forum 18 that it had any information about the
criminal case local police had told Fr Aleksandr had been launched against
him (see below).
On 16 March, Leningrad Regional Court upheld the right of Protestant Pavel
Mushumansky to avoid mobilisation into the army on grounds of his religious
beliefs. He should now be permitted to leave his military base in Luga,
where he has had to remain for nearly six months, refusing to wear uniform,
carry out orders, or accept pay. The documents releasing him from his unit
are still being prepared, his lawyer Aleksandr Peredruk told Forum 18 (see
below).
Punishments increased for "fakes" and "discreditation"
On 18 March, President Vladimir Putin signed into law a series of
amendments increasing penalties for disseminating "false information"
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
"discrediting" the Russian Armed Forces (Criminal Code Articles 207.3 and
280.3). The amendments also widen the definition of these offences (and of
Administrative Code Article 20.3.3) to include criticism of "volunteer
formations, organisations and individuals who assist in the fulfilment of
tasks assigned to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation" (that is,
private military outfits such as Wagner).
Under Criminal Code Article 280.3, Part 1, the maximum prison sentence will
be raised from 3 years to 5 years – under Part 2 (the same offence if
resulting in "death by negligence", harm to health or property, or mass
public disorder), from 5 years to 7 years.
Under Criminal Code Article 207.3, Part 1, the maximum prison sentence will
be raised from 3 years to 5 years (Part 2 remains unchanged).
The amendments are due to come into force ten days after their official
publication on 18 March.
Tomsk: Anna Chagina's trial to resume 11 April
On 15 March, Anna Sergeyevna Chagina (born 29 November 1979) made her first
appearance at Soviet District Court in the Siberian city of Tomsk on
charges of repeatedly "discrediting" the Russian Armed Forces. Judge Roman
Zaynulin refused the defence request to lift the restrictions under which
she has been living for the last three and half months. He adjourned the
trial until 11 April.
Tomsk Region Investigative Committee opened a case in November 2022
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
violinist, viola player, and music teacher – 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", when these take place more than once in twelve months). They
accused her of posting anti-war materials on her page on the VKontakte
social network.
Chagina noted to Forum 18 through friends on 11 March that the criminal
case is based on her own texts and comments on VKontakte, as well as
commentary from the Telegram channel of the Orthodox philosopher Nikolay
Karpitsky: "I don't agree with all the wording in Nikolay's texts, but I
published some of his thoughts on my VK page without cuts."
Originally from Tomsk, where he led the Tomsk Regional Anti-Fascist
Committee, Karpitsky has lived in Slovyansk in Ukraine since 2014. Since
Russia's invasion in February 2022, he has written regularly about wartime
life in Slovyansk and has discussed the war from a Christian perspective in
videos on his YouTube Channel, some of which Chagina also reposted.
(In 2011, Karpitsky acted as an expert witness for the defence
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Tomsk attempted to have "The Bhagavad-Gita As It Is" - a translation of and
commentary on the ancient Sanskrit text by Swami Prabhupada, founder of the
International Society for Krishna Consciousness – banned as extremist.
Courts in Tomsk refused to uphold the prosecutors' suit
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Forum 18 wrote to Tomsk Region Investigative Committee to ask why
expressing religion-based opposition to the war in Ukraine should be
considered "discreditation" of the Russian Armed Forces, and on which
specific social media posts the case against Chagina was based. "Taking
into account the interests of the investigation, it is not possible to
answer your request," it responded on 27 February
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
A Tomsk court had already handed Chagina a fine of 45,000-Roubles
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
average local wages) under Administrative Code Article 20.3.3 for
displaying a poster reading "Blessed are the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9)" at
an anti-war protest in Tomsk in March 2022.
"Many times after [the arrest for the poster], I inwardly turned to these
words of Christ and realised that peacemaking begins with what is in a
person's heart," Chagina told Forum 18. "Happiness is when you become one
who can reconcile those who are warring. One who has come to terms with
oneself, with people, with Life. When you carry light and joy in yourself,
which spread to other people."
In comments to Forum 18, Chagina expressed her sadness at the attitude of
some religious organisations to the war.
"From the moment the war began, I actively began to learn what other
Christians think about the war, what is happening in different faiths. An
unpleasant surprise was that hatred, division, pain and fear, like
invisible enemies, come from everywhere. The thought that there are priests
who bless people to kill is very hard, unbearably suffocating.
"It is terrible to see that a significant part of the Russian Orthodox
Church is captured by idolatry towards the state and the ethnic group,
although this did not begin on 24 February [2022], but, alas, has been
going on for centuries. But it's even harder for me to understand that
among Russian-speaking Protestants there are also those for whom earthly
authorities turned out to be more important than the Gospel."
Despite her own opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, "I did not
remove from my [VKontakte] friends those who support the war", Chagina told
Forum 18. "People can be mistaken, and they can repent of their mistakes.
Now we can't communicate. But I believe that the veil will fall from many
eyes, and I want to be open, waiting for this time to come."
Chagina also noted: "War divides us, draws a fiery line between us. War
gives a global reason for despair, despondency and hatred, and instead of
repentance, it offers to bury oneself forever in guilt. But war cannot
destroy the ability to pray and think. I am very interested in what lies
ahead for us: another tragedy of alienation or hope for a radical turn
towards a renewed and profound communion among Christians, towards the
unity of the Church?"
"For me, the Church is a single universal organism, the totality of all who
hope for salvation in Christ. As the Apostle wrote, 'there will no longer
be Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, man nor woman, but all will be one in
Christ', all will be one in Love. I rejoice that through the darkness of
our mistakes and falls, God, as before, walks with us, comes to us. It is
difficult to take the first step towards Love, but this is our
responsibility."
Tomsk: No change to Chagina's court-imposed restrictions
Anna Chagina has been under a court-ordered night-time curfew and bans on
sending and receiving correspondence, using the internet, and attending
large-scale public events since 1 December 2022, shortly after
investigators searched her home.
At the 15 March 2023 hearing, "The prosecutor expressed ritual fears that
'the accused may commit a more serious crime of a similar nature', on the
basis of which the restrictive measures should be left unchanged",
Akt-Produkt, an independent St Petersburg-based record label with which
Chagina has collaborated, commented on VKontakte on 16 March. "What kind of
'crime of a similar nature' could be committed [during the curfew] is not
clear, and the investigation, which could somehow theoretically be
interfered with, has been completed."
Akt-Produkt noted that the judge ignored this argument and the fact that,
after Chagina had moved house, the Federal Penitentiary Service in her new
district had given her "a faulty device which regularly records phantom
'violations' [of the curfew]".
St Petersburg: Fr Ioann Kurmoyarov denied medical care in prison
The trial of Fr Ioann Kurmoyarov (born Dmitry Valeryevich Kurmoyarov, 8
January 1968) on criminal charges of disseminating "false information"
about the Russian Armed Forces continues at St Petersburg's Kalinin
District Court (see below).
On 6 February, Judge Yuliya Olshevskaya extended Fr Ioann's period of
detention at the Kresty-2 prison (where he has been held since June 2022
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
St Petersburg City Court refused Fr Ioann's appeal against this latest
extension on 15 March, despite his arguments that his health problems were
getting worse in the prison.
"In the SIZO [pre-trial detention centre], they generally refuse me medical
care. I have already written more than 15 applications to five doctors. My
eyesight is deteriorating, my hearing is deteriorating, I have
hypertension, my knee joint is damaged," Fr Ioann said in court, Radio Free
Europe's Sever.Realii reported on 15 March. "I ask for a cardiologist, but
they do nothing. I don't know if they [the SIZO administration] are doing
this on purpose or not."
Forum 18 tried to find out from the administration of Kresty-2 prison
whether Fr Ioann has been refused necessary medical attention and, if so,
whether the refusal was the decision of doctors or of the prison
administration. However, telephones at the prison went unanswered on 20
March.
The United Nations (UN) Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of
Prisoners (known as the Mandela Rules, A/C.3/70/L.3
(https://www.unodc.org/documen
state in Rule 27 that: "All prisons shall ensure prompt access to medical
attention in urgent cases. Prisoners who require specialized treatment or
surgery shall be transferred to specialized institutions or to civil
hospitals." The Mandela Rules also state that medical decisions must be
made by doctors.
St Petersburg: Fr Ioann Kurmoyarov's trial to resume 10 April
Fr Ioann Kurmoyarov's trial at St Petersburg's Kalinin District Court
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
10 April.
The prosecution case against Fr Ioann is derived from videos he uploaded to
his YouTube channel – the "Orthodox Virtual Parish" – as well as
anti-war posts on social media. In his videos, Fr Ioann repeatedly
criticised the Russian government, the Moscow Patriarchate, and the war in
Ukraine from a Christian perspective. It is still unclear exactly which
videos form the basis of the accusation against him; in February,
prosecutors requested that a further 57 videos be added to the case
materials and subjected to "expert analysis".
Fr Ioann is on trial under Criminal Code Article 207.3, Part 2, Paragraphs
G and D. These punish the public dissemination of "false information" about
the Russian Armed Forces "for selfish motives" and "for reasons of
political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, or
for reasons of hatred or enmity towards any social group".
It appears that the latter accusation derives from Fr Ioann's pronouncement
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
"Who will be in heaven, and who in hell?" that "Whoever wants to take
revenge on Kyiv and Ukraine, convert to Islam. There is blood feud in
Islam. So, whoever wants to go to heaven, convert to Islam."
At the court hearing on 9 January 2023, the prosecution called as an expert
witness Imam Fayzulla Karimov, who serves at a prayer room in St
Petersburg. Karimov criticised Fr Ioann's statements as accusing Islam of
aggression, independent Russian media outlet RusNews noted on its Telegram
channel on 9 January.
Another expert (unnamed by RusNews) was absent from court, but submitted a
statement to be read out by the prosecutor, claiming that a religion
"cannot be adopted for political reasons, so Kurmoyarov insults both
Muslims and Christians with his statements".
Fr Ioann's lawyer Luiza Magomedova suggested in comments to RusNews that
Imam Karimov did not have sufficient grasp of the Russian language to make
an informed judgement on what Fr Ioann said. The imam lives in Tajikistan
and makes short visits to Russia, the SOTA Telegram channel noted on 9
January. Fr Ioann's attempt to discuss with the imam what he had said in
his video was halted by the judge, SOTA added.
"I am a Christian, a pacifist, a priest, a monk and a theologian, and I
always evaluate all events from these positions, from the positions of the
Gospel. I will try to convey this idea in court, if, of course, they let me
do it, and they don't shut my mouth, as is the case with the 'expert' –
the imam, for whom Russian is a foreign language", Fr Ioann wrote in an
open letter published by the Free Ioann Kurmoyarov Telegram Channel on 27
February.
Fr Ioann added: "If you don't manage to disclose your position in court,
you will have to do it through the media. In any case, those who judge me
should know that they are not judging a politician, but a Christian who
suffers for his faith, for his evangelical ideals, which, by the way, are
the basis of both the Orthodox faith and Russian civilisation."
"For my part, I also declare that I had no intention [of committing] and
did not commit any acts aimed at offending Muslims and inciting
inter-religious enmity," Fr Ioann wrote in an open letter to Imam Karimov,
also published on the Free Ioann Kurmoyarov Telegram channel on 13 March.
"I have always treated Muslims with respect, and therefore referred
exclusively to the opinions of authoritative figures in the Islamic world."
Fr Ioann, who was stripped of his clerical status in the Moscow
Patriarchate in April 2022, set up the "Orthodox Virtual Parish" YouTube
channel in June 2020 in response to his suspension from Novosibirsk Diocese
after he criticised the Cathedral of the Armed Forces (which had been
completed that summer near Moscow). He then joined a branch of the Russian
Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) which did not enter into communion
with the Moscow Patriarchate with other parts of ROCOR in 2007.
Before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Fr Ioann posted numerous videos which
criticised the Moscow Patriarchate and the Russian government, alongside
others on more general religious themes. After the war began, the channel
became "purely an anti-war project", as Fr Ioann put it in a video entitled
"On the spiritual essence of what is happening in Ukraine" (5 April 2022),
which remains pinned at the top of the channel's homepage.
Friends and former colleagues of Fr Ioann believe that it is the video
entitled "Who will be in heaven, and who in hell?", posted on 12 March
2022, which forms the basis of the prosecution, Radio Free Europe's Sibir
Realii noted on 12 June 2022.
Early in this video, Fr Ioann states: "'Blessed are the peacemakers' —
'the peacemakers', do you understand the problem? And those who have
unleashed aggression will not be in heaven". He later addresses those who
believe Russia's attacking Ukraine is justified: "You have yourselves
chosen this hell. For the whole world, you are aggressors who are attacking
and destroying civilians of a neighbouring nation, which did not expect it,
which does not want you, which should determine its own fate."
Fr Ioann also contrasts what he believes Orthodox Christians should think
of the war with the Islamic concept of jihad (he appears to ascribe to all
Muslims a literal interpretation of this), noting that the Mufti of
Chechnya has supported the invasion of Ukraine and asking his audience to
examine their own views.
The bulk of the eight-and-a-half-minute video is then taken up by Fr
Ioann's assessment of some of Russia's arguments for invading Ukraine,
including its claims to be defending the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine
and opposing Nato expansion. In his comments, Fr Ioann also criticises
Ukrainian actions in Donbas since 2014.
Bryansk Region: Anti-war Moscow Patriarchate priest to be defrocked
The Russian Orthodox Church's Klintsy and Trubchevsk Diocese – part of
Bryansk Metropolitanate – has begun the process of depriving Fr Aleksandr
Dombrovsky of his status as a priest, Dombrovsky himself announced on his
Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/alek
February.
"For a year now in Russia, they have been fighting against priests who
condemn the war. They are hauled in for interrogations, hounded and
defrocked," Dombrovsky wrote. He noted that "many" priests have joined
other Orthodox churches, and that he did the same after leaving Russia.
"And this decision was correct. The clowns of Klintsy diocese, not knowing
how best to curry favour with the FSB, have decided to defrock me.
Canonically, their idea is not only baseless but also ridiculous. Because
you can't fire an employee from someone else's company. Good luck to you,
gentlemen from the NKVD-MP! I am no longer yours."
Fr Aleksandr, who had repeatedly preached against the invasion of Ukraine
at his church in the Bryansk Region village of Muzhinovo, left Russia after
police told him that the Federal Security Service (FSB) had opened a
criminal case against him
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
correspondence, voice messages, and recordings of sermons provided by the
parish's churchwarden [starosta].
Fr Aleksandr had not been added to the Interior Ministry's wanted list as
of 15 March.
It is unknown under which Article of the Criminal Code the FSB opened its
case against Fr Aleksandr, but it is likely to be Article 207.3 ("Public
dissemination, under the guise of credible statements, of knowingly false
information on the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation").
On 16 February, Bryansk Region FSB responded to Forum 18's questions about
the case by denying it had any information.
Conscientious objector avoids mobilisation on religious grounds
On 16 March, Leningrad Regional Court upheld the right of Protestant Pavel
Mushumansky to avoid mobilisation into the army on grounds of his religious
beliefs (https://www.forum18.org/archi
he should now be permitted to leave his military base in the town of Luga,
where he has had to remain for nearly six months, refusing to wear uniform,
carry out orders, or accept pay.
The documents releasing him from his unit are still being prepared,
Mushumansky's lawyer Aleksandr Peredruk told Forum 18 on 20 March. It
remains unknown whether or where he will now carry out alternative service.
Mushumansky had performed alternative civilian service (ACS) as a conscript
between 2019 and 2021 (and therefore had no military experience and a
documented conscientious objection to military service). He nevertheless
received call-up papers in September 2022 as part of Russia's "partial
mobilisation" of reserves to fight in Ukraine. He applied to carry out ACS
again, but officials at the military recruitment office in his home town of
Gatchina ignored this and sent him to a military unit anyway.
Mushumansky – whom his lawyer describes as a "deeply believing person"
– lodged an administrative suit on 7 October 2022, asking that the court
overturn and declare unlawful the decision to mobilise him, and oblige the
district mobilisation commission to release him from military service.
Gatchina City Court upheld his request on 30 November 2022
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
authorities challenged this, meaning that Mushumansky had to remain at his
unit until the appeal.
Forum 18 sent enquiries in December 2022
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
Ministry's Information Department and the Western Military District, asking
why military recruitment offices were denying requests for alternative
civilian service when the Constitution guarantees this right to all
citizens. Forum 18 also asked whether mobilised conscientious objectors
would be allowed to serve in unarmed roles. Forum 18 had received no reply
by the end of the working day of 20 March 2023.
No clear mechanism for alternative service for mobilised men
There is still no clear mechanism by which mobilised men can apply for
alternative civilian service. Lawyers and human rights advocates agree that
Russian federal legislation does not provide for ACS for reservists during
mobilisation (only for conscripts during the regular twice-yearly
conscription periods). They insist, however, that the Constitution
guarantees the right to ACS in any case, and that men who object to
fighting on religious or other conscientious grounds should therefore lodge
applications for ACS and go to court when they are refused.
The gap in the law (https://www.forum18.org/archi
has led to military recruitment offices turning down conscientious
objectors' requests for alternative civilian service on the grounds that
there is no provision for ACS during mobilisation and/or that ACS is only
for conscripts, despite this being contrary to the Constitution.
The Defence Ministry announced on 29 October 2022 that mobilisation had
been completed and the target figure of 300,000 recruits met. Although
President Putin said on 9 December 2022 that there was "no need" for a
second wave of mobilisation, he has not issued a decree cancelling the
original announcement.
In March 2023, reports have come from a number of regions across Russia
that recruitment offices are again beginning to issue call-up papers
(https://www.bbc.com/russian/f
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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