Source: www.forum18.org
Date: April 5, 2023
On 30 March, a Moscow court jailed 63-year-old Orthodox Christian Mikhail
Simonov for 7 years for disseminating "false information" about the Russian
armed forces on the basis of "political hatred". He had made two short
social media posts condemning Russia's war against Ukraine, including: "We,
Russia, have become godless. Forgive us, Lord!" The Investigative Committee
and Prosecutor's Office did not respond on why they sought a long jail term
for Simonov, who suffers from health problems. A Krasnodar Region court
fined 86-year-old independent Orthodox Archbishop Viktor Pivovarov two
months' average pension for a sermon.
RUSSIA: First jail term for religious-based opposition to war
https://www.forum18.org/archiv
By Victoria Arnold, Forum 18
A 63-year-old Russian Orthodox Christian has become the first person to be
sentenced to imprisonment for expressing his opposition to Russia's war in
Ukraine in religious terms. Investigators accused Mikhail Simonov of
disseminating "false information" about the Russian armed forces on the
basis of "political hatred", because of two social media posts in which he
condemned Russian attacks on the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Mariupol.
"Killing children and women, on Channel One [television] we sing songs. We,
Russia, have become godless [bezbozhniki]. Forgive us, Lord!" Simonov wrote
on social media in a March 2022 post which would form the basis for his
prosecution (see below)
On 30 March 2023, a Moscow court handed Simonov a 7-year prison term, to be
followed by a 4-year ban on specific activities related to internet use. At
present, he remains in custody at a Moscow detention centre awaiting a
possible appeal (see below).
Simonov was prosecuted under Criminal Code Article 207.3, which President
Vladimir Putin signed into law in March 2022, shortly after the Russian
invasion of Ukraine. On 28 March 2023, amendments to the Criminal Code
increased maximum penalties under this Article and under Article 280.3
(repeat "discreditation" of the Russian armed forces, adopted at the same
time) (see below).
Forum 18 asked the Federal Investigative Committee and its Moscow branch,
as well as Moscow City Prosecutor's Office, in what way Simonov's comments
could be construed as motivated by hatred of a political or social group,
and why it was necessary to have a 63-year-old man with health problems
placed in detention. Forum 18 also asked Moscow City Prosecutor's Office
why prosecutors had requested such a long prison sentence. Forum 18
received no reply from any of these agencies (see below).
Simonov has been in Investigation Prison No. 5 in Moscow since November
2022. He told the court that he has suffered from sharply fluctuating blood
pressure and headaches, and has lost consciousness on several occasions
during his time in detention. According to his lawyer, SImonov is suffering
from coronary heart disease and hypertension. Forum 18 asked the
Investigation Prison whether it is keeping him under medical supervision
and whether he had access to all necessary medications. Forum 18 received
no reply (see below).
Two other individuals – both Orthodox Christians – are on trial for
their religious-based opposition to Russia's renewed war against Ukraine
(see below).
Russians who object to the war – including small numbers who do so on
religious grounds or who express their opposition in religious terms –
also continue to face prosecution under Administrative Code Article 20.3.3
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian
Federation").
Recently, these have included 86-year-old Viktor Pivovarov, an Archbishop
in an independent Orthodox church not affiliated with the Moscow
Patriarchate. A court in Krasnodar Region fined him one month's average
local wage or more than two months' average local pension on 24 March for
an anti-war sermon in his church (see below).
Forum 18 asked the Krasnodar Region branch of the Interior Ministry and the
joint court press service for Krasnodar Region to clarify which statements
of Pivovarov's could be considered "discreditation" of the Russian armed
forces and why. The Interior Ministry press office refused to answer Forum
18's questions as "the case is with the court". Forum 18 received no reply
from the court (see below).
Two criminal trials continue
Two other people are currently on trial on criminal charges for opposing
the war from a religious perspective, both Orthodox Christians:
- Father Ioann Kurmoyarov is in custody at St Petersburg's Kresty-2 prison.
He belongs to a branch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia which
is not in communion with the Moscow Patriarchate, and has also been charged
under Article 207.3 – his next hearing is due to take place on 10 April
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
District Court;
- Musician and teacher Anna Chagina's trial under Article 280.3 is due to
resume on 11 April (https://www.forum18.org/archi
Soviet District Court in Tomsk. She remains at home under specific
restrictions, including a night-time curfew, and must wear an electronic
tag.
The first person to be criminally convicted for opposing the war on
religious grounds was Fr Nikandr Pinchuk (a member of the same branch of
ROCOR as Fr Ioann Kurmoyarov). A Sverdlovsk Region court found him guilty
in October 2022 (https://www.forum18.org/archi
Article 280.3 for a social media post from March 2022 which described
Russian troops as "the horde of the Antichrist", and Ukrainians as "the
Christian army which .. will not allow it to capture the south of Ukraine",
while praising the defenders who had been "holding the city of Mary,
Mariupol, for more than a month". The court fined him 100,000 Roubles, two
months' average local wage.
"Fakes" and "discreditation": Increased punishments from 28 March
On 28 March 2023, a series of amendments to the Criminal Code came into
legal force, increasing penalties for disseminating "false information"
about and repeatedly "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 mercenary units such as Wagner).
Under Criminal Code Article 280.3
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
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"), Part 1, the
maximum prison sentence was 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
(https://www.forum18.org/archi
dissemination, under the guise of credible statements, of knowingly false
information on the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation"),
Part 1, the maximum prison sentence was raised from 3 years to 5 years
(Part 2 remains unchanged).
Specific penalties for criticising Russia's actions in its war against
Ukraine came into force on 4 March 2022. These include Administrative Code
Article 20.3.3 (https://www.forum18.org/archi
("Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the
Russian Federation"), which is used against apparently any form of anti-war
statement either in public spaces or online, and 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").
If individuals commit an offence covered by Administrative Code Article
20.3.3 more than once within a year, they may be prosecuted 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").
As of 23 March 2023, there had been 146 prosecutions under Criminal Code
Article 207.3, and 61 prosecutions under Criminal Code Article 280.3,
according to human rights group OVD-Info
(https://data.ovdinfo.org/svod
total of 487 criminal prosecutions for anti-war activities.
Police and other investigative agencies also use other Criminal Code
Articles against people protesting against the war – such as Article 213
("Hooliganism"), Article 214 ("Vandalism"), and Article 318 ("Violence
against the authorities") – but are not yet known to have done so to
punish anyone protesting from a religious perspective.
Also as of 23 March 2023, police had initiated 6,296 cases under
Administrative Code Article 20.3.3, according to OVD-Info, citing figures
from independent Russian media outlet Mediazona.
Between 24 February 2022 and 23 March 2023, OVD-Info recorded 19,644
detentions of people protesting against the invasion of Ukraine and
latterly against the "partial mobilisation" (announced on 21 September
2022).
Moscow: 7-year jail term
On 30 March, Judge Sergey Galkin of Moscow's Timiryazevsky District Court
sentenced Mikhail Yuryevich Simonov (born 27 January 1960) to 7 years'
imprisonment for condemning Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities. This is
the punishment the prosecutor had demanded. Simonov stood in handcuffs to
hear the judge read the verdict.
Judge Galkin found Simonov guilty under Criminal Code Article 207.3, Part 2
("Public dissemination, under the guise of credible statements, of
knowingly false information on the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian
Federation"), Paragraph D ("based on political, ideological, racial,
national, or religious hatred or enmity, or based on hatred or enmity
against any social group").
(Possible punishments for this offence include prison terms from 5 to 10
years – followed by bans on particular activities or occupations for up
to 5 years – and fines from 3 million to 5 million Roubles.)
The judge also ruled that after his release (should his conviction come
into force), Simonov will also be subject to a 4-year ban on some internet
activities, though it is unclear what exactly this will cover.
Simonov can appeal to Moscow City Court. He has 15 days to appeal from the
day he receives the written verdict (the appeal period was extended from 10
days in December 2022).
Moscow: "Forgive us, Lord!" leads to criminal case
Mikhail Simonov posted two messages on the social media site VKontakte, on
19 and 20 March 2022, which would later form the basis of the prosecution
case: "Killing children and women, on Channel One [television] we sing
songs. We, Russia, have become godless [bezbozhniki]. Forgive us, Lord!";
and "Russian pilots are bombing children".
Simonov's posts came to investigators' attention when two VKontakte users
allegedly saw his posts in their feeds "by chance", then separately called
an Interior Ministry hotline to report him. They later acted as prosecution
witnesses in court, one of them stating that she had been angry at the
"solid lump of liberalism" on Simonov's page and that she did not believe
the Russian army had committed any crimes, Mediazona noted on 29 March
2023.
In August and September 2022, an Investigative Committee lieutenant twice
decided not to open a criminal case against Simonov, having concluded that
he had not committed an offence. Her superiors overruled her on both
occasions, and another investigator eventually initiated the case in early
November 2022, according to Mediazona's account of proceedings on 30 March
2023.
Simonov is a restaurant car manager on long-distance trains, and spends
most of his time off in Belarus, where his wife lives. He arrived in Moscow
on 9 November 2022 after two to three months at work, and was detained the
same day at a friend's home in the city. On 10 November, Moscow's Gagarin
District Court ordered him placed in pre-trial detention.
The Investigative Committee concluded that Simonov had "a dismissive,
unfriendly and aggressively hostile attitude towards the Russian
authorities", the Net Freedoms Project said on its Telegram channel on 23
January 2023. It also concluded that he had "misled readers about the
legality of the actions of the Russian armed forces during the special
military operation, and also undermined their authority and discredited
them, since according to the Russian Defence Ministry, information about
the alleged killing of civilians by Russian military personnel in Kiev and
Mariupol does not correspond to reality".
Simonov did not deny making the comments on VKontakte, nor posts from
before the war criticising Putin and Belarusian leader Aleksandr
Lukashenko, but after discussion with his lawyer, insisted he was innocent
of the prosecution's accusations.
Forum 18 wrote to the Federal Investigative Committee and its Moscow branch
before the start of the working day of 24 March, asking in what way
Simonov's comments could be construed as motivated by hatred of a political
or social group, and why it was necessary to have a 63-year-old man with
health problems placed in detention.
Forum 18 put the same questions to Moscow City Prosecutor's Office before
the start of the working day of 30 March, also asking why prosecutors had
requested such a long prison sentence.
Forum 18 had received no reply from any of these agencies as of the end of
the Moscow working day of 5 April.
Moscow: "I treat all living things in a Christian way"
On 30 November 2022, prosecutors lodged Mikhail Simonov's case at Moscow's
Timiryazevsky District Court, which assigned it to Judge Sergey Galkin. The
trial began on 21 December. Simonov's two posts on VKontakte on 19 and 20
March 2022 formed the basis of the prosecution case: "Killing children and
women, on Channel One [television] we sing songs. We, Russia, have become
godless [bezbozhniki]. Forgive us, Lord!"; and "Russian pilots are bombing
children".
At his second hearing in January, Simonov explained that his mother had
baptised him in childhood, "And somehow that has stayed with me for the
rest of my life. I am a person who treats all living things in a Christian
way," the Net Freedoms Project reported on its Telegram channel on 23
January.
In court on 29 March, the prosecutor argued that "The actions of the fifth
column are especially dangerous". The actions of people like Simonov are "a
stab in the back", she added, "and servicemen, risking their lives daily,
defending the sovereignty of the state, deserve unconditionally strong
[and] reliable support from the rear and the public".
During the final defence and prosecution speeches to the court on 29 March,
Simonov's lawyer Aleksandr Aldayev argued that Simonov is "a believer" who
had "simply expressed a pacifist position". In his own final statement
(transcribed by Mediazona), Simonov said that he had posted his comments
"on impulse" after reading Euronews articles about the Russian bombardments
of the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Mariupol.
"What impulse was it?" Simonov said in court. "The impulse was that people
were dying. I have always believed and still believe that human life has
unconditional value, which should be a priority, although in our country
they do not think so. That's how I was raised."
Simonov added that he had used his VKontakte page – which is openly
accessible, with around 100 friends and two subscribers – as "a
repository of my photos" and "like a diary", where he did not have
conversations with anyone and from which he generally deleted posts after a
time.
While the trial was underway, Simonov expressed to a fellow detainee his
fear of a long prison sentence. "When he heard how many years they had
requested for me, he said that such a term would be a life sentence for
him," Dmitry Ivanov, who was sentenced by the same court to 8 years and 6
months' imprisonment on similar charges, commented on Telegram on 8 March.
Ivanov has used his public profile as a well-known student leader at Moscow
State University to rally support for Simonov, whom he met in detention.
Moscow: Is Simonov receiving appropriate medical attention in Investigation
Prison?
Simonov is currently in detention at Investigation Prison No. 5 in Moscow,
where he has already spent almost five months since his November 2022
arrest.
According to his lawyer, Aleksandr Aldayev, Simonov has coronary heart
disease and hypertension. Simonov himself told the court on 29 March that
he has suffered from sharply fluctuating blood pressure and headaches, and
has lost consciousness on several occasions during his time in detention,
the SOTA Project reported on its Telegram channel the same day.
A prison doctor noted in Simonov's medical record that his chronic
conditions had worsened, but the detention centre did not issue a
certificate to this effect for the court, Mediazona noted on 30 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." It adds: "Clinical decisions may only be taken
by the responsible health-care professionals and may not be overruled or
ignored by non-medical prison staff."
Rule 33 declares: "The physician shall report to the prison director
whenever he or she considers that a prisoner's physical or mental health
has been or will be injuriously affected by continued imprisonment or by
any condition of imprisonment."
Forum 18 wrote to Investigation Prison No. 5 before the start of the
working day of 24 March, asking whether it was keeping Simonov under
medical supervision and whether he had access to all necessary medications.
Forum 18 had received no reply as of the end of the Moscow working day of 5
April.
Simonov's current address in Investigation Prison:
125130, g. Moskva
ul. Vyborgskaya 20
FKU Sledstvenniy izolyator No. 5 UFSIN Rossii po g. Moskve "Vodnik"
"A holy war": Another "discreditation" case
On 24 March, Archbishop Viktor Ivanovich Pivovarov (born 8 February 1937)
was fined 40,000 Roubles – one month's average local wage or more than
two months' average local pension - for an anti-war sermon he had given
just over a month earlier at the Holy Intercession Tikhonite Church in the
town of Slavyansk-na-Kubani in Krasnodar Region.
Although police ultimately charged him under Administrative Code Article
20.3.3 ("Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces
of the Russian Federation"), Part 1, the written verdict from Slavyansk
City Court, seen by Forum 18, notes that criminal prosecution had been
considered.
Though it remains unclear exactly what the Archbishop said, according to a
post on the church's website on 31 March, the sermon "touched on gloomy
topics about what happened a century ago, what is happening now and what
awaits us in the future". Judge Nikolay Mironenko interpreted this as
"public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the
Russian Federation in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics in order
to protect the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens".
Viktor Pivovarov was ordained a priest in the Russian Orthodox Church
Outside Russia (ROCOR), which opened parishes inside Russia in the early
1990s, and in 2006 became an Archbishop in the Russian [Rossiyskaya]
Orthodox Church (RosPTs), which was founded after a series of splits within
ROCOR. He now leads a rival branch of RosPTs which he established in 2009
after a further split. It is not in communion with either other parts of
ROCOR or the Moscow Patriarchate.
Police opened the case after someone in the congregation at Archbishop
Viktor's Sunday service on 19 February "went to write a statement [against
Pivovarov] for criticising the actions of her beloved leader [presumably
Putin]", according to Hieromonk Iona Sigida, writing on the church's
eshatologia.org website on 31 March. The Archbishop was then prosecuted
"under a newly invented Article, invented out of fear and hatred of dissent
from those who do not believe the television".
Archbishop Viktor said in court that "There is a holy war, and it's an
aggressive one", he told Radio Free Europe's Kavkaz.Realii on 27 March. "If
tanks are under our windows, then we have been attacked and we need to
defend ourselves. If our tanks are under their windows, then this is a
lawless damned war."
Archbishop Viktor pleaded guilty and intends to pay the fine without
appealing, he told Caucasian Knot on 29 March: "I really did say what was
said in court, and I did it during a sermon in the cathedral – where one
should speak the truth and only the truth."
Forum 18 wrote to the Krasnodar Region branch of the Interior Ministry and
the joint court press service for Krasnodar Region in the afternoon of 3
April, asking them to clarify which statements of Pivovarov's could be
considered "discreditation" of the Russian armed forces and why. The
Interior Ministry press office responded the same day, refusing to answer
Forum 18's questions as "the case is with the court".
Forum 18 had received no reply from the court as of the end of the
Krasnodar working day of 5 April. (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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