{"id":3953,"date":"2020-09-29T23:33:53","date_gmt":"2020-09-29T21:33:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.human-rights-year.com\/?p=3953"},"modified":"2020-12-29T23:35:50","modified_gmt":"2020-12-29T22:35:50","slug":"defendant-in-perm-putin-mannequin-case-is-a-political-prisoner-memorial-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.human-rights-year.com\/de\/2020\/09\/29\/defendant-in-perm-putin-mannequin-case-is-a-political-prisoner-memorial-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Defendant in Perm \u2018Putin mannequin\u2019 case is a political prisoner, Memorial says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Memorial Human Rights Centre considers Aleksandr Shabarchin, an opposition activist from Perm convicted in the case of the ‚Putin mannequin,‘ a political prisoner. We consider Danila Vasilyev, also convicted in the same case, a victim of politically motivated prosecution. We believe that Shabarchin and Vasilyev committed no crime and have been prosecuted because of their political activism. Memorial Human Rights Centre calls for the immediate release of Aleksandr Shabarchin from custody and the quashing of the convictions of both activists.<\/p>\n

The charges against Aleksandr Shabarchin and Danila Vasilyev<\/strong><\/p>\n

On 11 November 2018 at a central intersection in Perm two young men tied a mannequin in prison clothing to a lamppost. The mannequin wore a paper mask of Vladimir Putin and a placard on its chest with the words: \u2018Liar, war criminal Pynya V.V.\u2019 After that, for an hour they and a third defendant in the case, Aleksandr Etkin (later acquitted by the court for lack of evidence), watched the reactions of passers-by, taking pictures of what was happening on their phones.<\/p>\n

A week later, Aleksandr Shabarchin published on the satirical YouTube channel Perm Thunderstorm a video clip called \u2018Special Forces detained Putin.\u2019 The video was preceded by the words: \u2018This video is staged, and the people in it are actors. The purpose of the video is not to humiliate or offend anyone. It is created purely for entertainment. All coincidences with real people are accidental. P. S. Do not put us in jail, please.\u2019<\/p>\n

The video was created from several episodes shot at different times and locations: the staged \u2018detention of the terrorist Pynya\u2019 (an actor wearing a paper mask reminiscent of Putin) in a cafe where he tries to collect taxes from visitors; the \u2018interrogation\u2019 of the detainee by \u2018special forces\u2019 on a stretch of wasteland; and the episode with which they have been charged in which the mannequin is tied to a lamppost and the reactions of passers-by are observed (before this, it had been explained that it had not been possible to deliver the criminal Pynya to The Hague).<\/p>\n

How the case developed<\/strong><\/p>\n

It did not prove possible to find evidence of a crime in the satirical video for more than a year. Experts from various organisations studied the video clips on Shabarchin\u2019s channel but failed to identify any evidence of incitement to illegal actions or to insult any social group.<\/p>\n

The situation changed in December 2019 when a new investigator took over the case and ordered another wide-ranging psychological, linguistic and legal assessment by specialists from Perm State National Research University. This time, the experts found the activists‘ actions were motivated by political enmity and a desire to insult supporters of President Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n

According to these experts, \u2018the open, demonstrative nature of such an event has a harmful impact on young people as a social group, a negative psychological and educational impact, and may encourage the adoption of precisely these forms of behaviour\u2019 and poses a special danger for persons \u2018with special sensitivity, receptivity and increased excitability.\u2019 These latter groups, according to the experts from Perm State National Research University, are \u2018minors, women and persons of retirement age.\u2019<\/p>\n

In January 2019 Aleksandr Shabarchin, Danila Vasilyev and Aleksandr Etkin were charged.<\/p>\n

On 18 August 2020, Leninsky district court in Perm convicted Aleksandr Shabarchin and Danila Vasilyev of an offence under Part 2 of Article 213 of the Russian Criminal Code (gross violation of public order committed by a group of people by prior conspiracy). Aleksandr Shabarchin was sentenced to two years\u2019 imprisonment in a general regime penal colony, Danila Vasilyev was given a one-year suspended sentence and Aleksandr Etkin was acquitted.<\/p>\n

Why Memorial considers the prosecutions unlawful and politically motivated<\/strong><\/p>\n