In Russia, according to the complaints of citizens of initiative, they withdraw the blue-yellow benches and fences. Going out in clothes with such color combinations is simply dangerous. Blue-green ribbons woven into the hair of a Khanty-Mansiysk schoolgirl, become reason for the denunciation by the director of his parents. All these cases are covered by the article on “discrediting the Russian army”. At the same time they ring calls hold citizens responsible for “Russophobia” or to recognise foreign agent for “violation of spiritual values”. About what this could lead to, Russian media was told by Freitak and Sons bar association partner Vadim Bagaturia.
Why the combination of blue and yellow was banned
A rather unhealthy practice of law enforcement is forming. The police are, in my opinion, an overly broad interpretation of the term “discrediting the armed forces”.
During the time that the military operation lasts, we have already developed enough criteria. According to them, discredit is:
Reprimanding the actions of our soldiers, and more recently, members of private military companies; Questioning the validity of their actions; Criticism of the country’s senior leadership and military leadership. Finally, it is the classic thesis of “No *****”.
On the whole, any responsibility for discredit is expressed, as a rule, verbally. That is, a person must publicly oppose his point of view to the official one, which is now formed by the state, and express it either by word or text – that is, say draw a poster or say something.
Alexander Chizhenok / Kommersant
Widely interpreting the responsibility to “discredit the armed forces”, the police lead our people to the fact that the classic graphic display of yellow and blue colors will gradually disappear from our lives. Although it should be noted that even the display of the flag of Ukraine in our country is not inherently something illegal. Because, firstly, it is the state symbol of a neighboring country, and secondly, we have a “special military operation” going on, and no one has declared war. Finally, quite a few cars drive on our streets, on the numbers of which this same flag is represented. It turns out the same thing “here it is possible, but here it is impossible”, which seems rather absurd.
In addition, you can pay attention to the coats of arms and flags of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. One of the most striking examples is the flag of the Republic of Tuva in yellow and blue. And if you look at this flag, then, in principle, you can, for example, pick up clothes under it. Therefore, why would a police officer who writes protocols against citizens for yellow-blue suits only have Ukraine in mind?
If, of course, a person holds the flag of this country in their hands and says that our armed forces are breaking the law, then that is discrediting. But the clothes here are absolutely irrelevant. The yellow and blue suit is just a yellow and blue suit.
How does the Russian court rule in such cases?
Our courts generally work, in my professional opinion, rather incompetently in a number of administrative and criminal cases. We have any court where on the one hand there is a state, as a general rule the state wins, and it doesn’t matter what you are charged with.
In this context, the judges repeat the sad experience of the cases of three years ago, when people were convicted under the article on the use of violence against a representative of the authorities for throwing a cup into plastic on the riot police. Everything just happens: a policeman writes a report on the basis of administrative documents, in which he presents his version of what is happening. And the court then writes that there is no reason not to trust this report. At the same time, a citizen can present a video recording of what happened, and the court will not consider this video, because “the source of its origin is not clear.”
Dmitry Lebedev / Kommersant
Our Themis turns a blind eye to absolutely all reasonable arguments and evidence. This negative trend has been going on for decades. As a result, our level of people’s trust in the justice and law enforcement systems is rather low, at least among those who turn to me for legal assistance as a lawyer.
People are well aware that even if they are right three times, it is not a fact that it will be possible to prove it in court.
Therefore, the jury remains the only bastion of justice in the temple of justice called “Russian court”. But a few years ago, a very large number of cases were removed from its jurisdiction. These are corruption cases, terrorism cases, pedophilia cases, etc. That is, those that are quite easy to manufacture. As a result, only professional judges now make decisions about them. I just told you how professional judges work.
What does this case law lead to?
I believe that the state’s level of well-being, its historical prospects and its current economic development depend solely on the competence, impartiality and professionalism of judges. And in our country, the court makes a decision either in favor of the state, or automatically, because the judge is simply reluctant to do so, and he still has 22 cases scheduled for today.
Alexander Koriakov / Kommersant
In my work, I have participated in courts of different categories, and the most favorable impression remains after the army, because there the judge’s burden is less and he can really deepen and understand what is going on. happened. But when you get to the common law court and look at the list of cases that are due to be heard today, you just don’t understand how you can understand anything in 10 minutes allotted for a case.
This is despite the fact that judges now suffer from a chronic shortage of assistants and secretaries, as these specialists receive only a penny salary in the region of 25,000 rubles. There is no queue of those who wish to work there even in the provinces.
How can you “accidentally” discredit the Russian military
About two weeks ago, I read the information about the conviction of a policeman in the case of discrediting the army, which he committed during telephone conversations with an acquaintance. His telephone conversations were recorded because the man was suspected of something else.
A paradoxical situation emerges. He is suspected of a crime, it is not confirmed, but in the end they decide to lure a person in another way. Just because his phone was tapped, he finally got a real sentence and went to jail.
In fact, everything goes to the fact that conditionals Ivan Ivanovich and Pyotr Petrovich in the evening while drinking alcohol may not agree on points of view on a certain issue, then one of them will go to the police and will write a denunciation of the other that he would have scolded our army.
So all that remains is to think about such topics in a single dark room, and preferably at the North Pole. Then you will definitely not be attracted to discredit.
Anyone can be attracted. If you look at what is happening from an absurd point of view, then in principle it is necessary to ban the words “bacon, borscht”, for example. Because they are also somehow reminiscent of the neighboring country.
At the same time, on the one hand, we hear on the agenda that the Ukrainians are our brother people. That we liberate them from the “bad” government that uses drugs and follows Nazi ideas. But at the same time, the mention of any Ukrainian program at the level of daily law enforcement practice has also become something punishable. And in fact, those who form this program are digging themselves a hole in the future.
Maxim Polyakov / Kommersant
The system is inert. Before we have a decision from the Plenum of the Supreme Court on the libel cases, it will be another two years, and during this time so much firewood will be broken that Mom will not be grieved. On the other hand, the police, as a rule, cannot work otherwise. She is forced to make “sticks”, because the authorities require it from the police, and the ministry from the authorities, and so on along the chain. So everyone from below is looking for any opportunity to make these “sticks”.
And the courts already see themselves as civil servants and work on the same team as the executive. Although, again, according to the Constitution, it is a judicial power, independent of the executive, obliged to make a decision only in accordance with the law.
What will the appearance of an article on Russophobia in the Criminal Code lead to?
I haven’t heard of a separate liability for anti-Semitism or black aversion. For extremism, it’s the same everywhere in all countries. Even our regulations clearly state that hate speech based on race, gender, age and nationality is punishable by law.
If we perceive Russians as some kind of nation, and someone incites hatred towards us or towards our country, then it turns out that in any case he is engaged either in extremism or in incitement to hatred, or, to put it in common parlance, commits a crime based on national conflict. Why write a separate article about it?
So let our Jewish comrades write an article about anti-Semitism, and black comrades – an article because people call them niggers. There will be a distinct “negrophobia” or “judophobia”. All this is a kind of double standard and public relations of our deputies.
The St. Petersburg Legal Forum was held last week. And within the framework of this discussion, I was very interested in the thought of Minister of Justice Chuichenko, who spoke of the need to recognize those who violate “spiritual values” as foreign agents. When this person says such things, does he seek even a little to analyze the practice of the forces of order and the existing legislation?
Andrei Bortko / Kommersant
Suppose you are not under foreign influence and do not receive money from the West. But, let’s say, you are engaged in sodomy, which means, according to the Russian Orthodox Church, you violate spiritual values by 300%. At the same time, you can be, like the hero of “Nasha Rashi” Dulin, a milling machine operator at a factory in Chelyabinsk. You have nothing to do with other states, but for violating “spiritual values” you are easily recognized as a foreign agent.
And if Chuichenko’s thought develops in this vein, it turns out that he is simply proposing to declare the people the enemy of the people.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the opinion of the editors
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