![]() As Human Rights in Ukraine reports, there were two grounds for the prosecution. The first was that on 4 April 2014 she had held a single-person picket at which she had held a banner reading, 'No war against Ukraine, but revolution in Russia! No war, but revolution'. She posted a picture of herself with the banner on VKontakte. The second was that she had shared someone else’s post on social media containing the words 'Wake up, people! Why can we not get rid of Putin and then make a socialist revolution?!!! Enough sleeping! It’s time to go out onto the square and overthrow this regime'. She had also reposted a picture with the words: 'Ethnic Ukrainians of Kuban want to join Ukraine.' The second episode was the first time that charges had been laid under the new offence provided for under Article 280 § 2 of the Russian Criminal Code (namely, public calls to extremism via the Internet). Tanya Lokshina, Russia Program Director for Human Rights Watch, has written about this case: 'Polyudova’s VK page has all of 38 followers, and most of her posts draw very few comments. Her words can’t be taken as inciting violence, and they certainly didn’t pose a “danger to the public,” as Russian law requires for criminal prosecution. Polyudova’s prosecution is one in a growing number of cases where Russians are being punished for speaking their mind. [...] Since the return of Vladimir Putin to the Kremlin in 2012, the Russian government has instituted an unprecedented and sweeping crackdown on critics of the government, and one of its tools has been overbroad and vague anti-extremism legislation. As the space for freedom of speech in the traditional media narrows, the government is now going after the Internet and targeting individuals who try to stir public debate about sensitive issues, especially Ukraine. [...] By criminally prosecuting [Darya Polyudova], the government is sending a chilling signal to Internet users across country – if you think you can speak your mind online, think again.'Sources: Halya Coynash, 'Russian "federalization march" activist jailed for critical social network posts,' Human Rights in Ukraine, 22 December 2015 Tanya Lokshina, 'Dispatches: The Crime of Speaking Up in Russia,' Human Rights Watch, 22 December 2015Photo: Caucasian Knot |
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