"They are gossiping about Russia" and Putin: in Crimea, people are being tried for chatroom correspondence

In the annexed Crimea, a trend has been observed of people being persecuted for posts in closed online communities, including chats via messenger. There are already court rulings in the region for "false" reports. In the article Krym.Realii we say what can be written in the chatroom and what can't.

There are a number of articles in Russian legislation that provide for penalties for public statements on the Internet, including insulting the government and state symbols.
These norms are especially actively applied during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, when the voices of those who disagree with this war are increasingly being heard. Since the beginning of the great war in Crimea, there have been dozens of court decisions related to posts in closed Internet communities. The contents of which later end up in the possession of the Russian special services.

Dangerous conversations

One of the most obvious examples of persecution of Crimeans due to posts in closed Internet communities is the story of a 30-year-old resident of the village of Vinogradna. Last year, she ended up in court over a post in her parents' chat room.
"She sent a photo of the flag of Ukraine and a caption with an obscene insult to the state of the Russian Federation in the conversation of her parents. This was seen by 19 participants of the chat", reports the Russian media.
A local court under Russian control fined the Crimean woman 50,000 rubles. She has no public position in this case.
Another example of the persecution of Crimean residents for speaking in closed Internet communities is the case of mother and son Olga and Andrij Dibrov from Leninsky district. In November 2023, the Russian-controlled Lenin District Court fined them based on Part 3 of Article 20.1 of the Administrative Code of Russia.
The occasion was a video recording of a closed conversation, in which Olga Dibrova complained that there was no electricity in her house for two months. She said that Putin "turned out the light" for her and called him "that bald KGB officer", noting that "KGB officers and the police are thieves who prey on the poor".
Her son said in this video chat that he will not "serve this Russia" because he "does not want to betray his homeland".

This video fragment ended up in the possession of the Crimean Telegram channel SMERSH, which helps Russian special services to persecute Crimeans with an anti-war or pro-Ukraine stance. As a result, Dibrov was tried on four administrative charges, including discrediting the Russian armed forces and disrespecting the authorities. They were arrested and fined for 10 days. Their position on this issue is unknown.

"Criminal" comments

Sometimes comments in chatrooms and closed online communities can turn into prosecution. In the summer, a resident of Yalta, who was accused of publishing "extremist" comments on Telegram channels, became a suspect in criminal proceedings.
"A 43-year-old woman, in one of the conversations on Telegram using her personal account, published comments containing calls for violent actions against a group of people, singled out on the basis of Russian nationality," the Crimean branch of the FSB said.
Criminal proceedings were initiated against her under Article 280 (public invitations to extremist activities via the Internet) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. She faces up to five years in prison.
The position of the accused is unknown.
A similar criminal case appeared in the summer of this year in Feodosia. Russian security forces arrested local resident Roman Zubov. He is accused of being an active participant in "Ukrainian Telegram chats", where he "publicly called for the murder of Russians, and publicly supported the suppression of Russians living on the territory of other countries based on their nationality."
It is not known which chats are in question. Roman Zubov faces a sentence of up to five years in prison under Article 280 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
His position in this case is unknown.

"Measures to suppress criticism of the government"

Russian law provides many grounds for prosecuting people for posting in chatrooms. Russian courts accept screenshots of chat correspondence as evidence.
Their publication is subject to both administrative and criminal liability, depending on how the content is qualified. These can be: insults, humiliation of honor and dignity on the Internet (Article 5.61 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), dissemination of intentionally false messages, such as those that dishonor honor and dignity (defamation), humiliating statements on religious or national grounds (Article 128.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation Federation), inciting hatred and enmity based on nationality, race, gender, language, religion (Article 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), threats to life and health (Article 119 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Often, in the cases of Crimea on the dissemination of information on the Internet, there is Article 20.1 of the Law on Administrative Offenses (minor hooliganism). In Russia, in 2019, parts 3, 4 and 5 were amended, which provide fines for spreading information on the Internet "in an obscene form that offends human dignity and public morality", show "clear disrespect for society, the state, the official state symbols of Russia, the Constitution Russian Federation or authorities".
"We believe that such measures are excessive and that they are clearly aimed at suppressing criticism of the work of the Government, which is sufficiently protected by other laws. Although formally ch. 3-5 century 20.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses do not fall under the anti-extremism legislation, the stated goal of limiting freedom of speech - the protection of state institutions - coincides with one of the goals of the anti-extremist policy", according to the press release of the Russian research center "Sova".

"Comrade Major" see what is written

The intensification of the persecution of people because of their statements on the Internet is connected with the fact that the Russian authorities, in the conditions of a complete invasion of Ukraine, increased their attention to internal censorship, says the lawyer of former Crimean political prisoners Mykola Polozov. They use technical means and reports to detect "uncensored" expressions in closed Internet communities.
"In Russia, the SORM system works - the collection of operational information directly from communication channels. Each provider is obliged to purchase and maintain a hardware and software complex that enables recording of traffic as a whole and individual messages. Law enforcement officials have access to this information. This technical part may include forums on websites and public spaces on the social network Vkontakte, where law enforcement officials can see, in particular, closed correspondence. This is a dangerous environment - what is written there see "Comrade Major". The situation with messengers is more complex. Not all are open to Russian special services. But if necessary, they also have access to some. In addition, old agent networks and applications are also active. When someone writes something in the same closed chat, and a member of the chat writes a report about it. Thus, the Russian authorities fight against dissent with various methods, including the so-called "denunciation institute", the lawyer explained to Krym.Realia.
In this way, in Russia they are trying to finally suppress protest voices from the public space, Mikola Polozov believes.
"The Russian government in the conditions of war continues the trend of suppressing civil society with this fight against perceived threats to itself. And on the other hand, it is a tool of struggle against people who live in the occupied territories and did not accept the occupation and its consequences. That is, it is the continuation of terror against the civilian population," he says.
On October 16, the Deputy Representative of the President of Ukraine in the ARC, Olga Kurishko, called for the strengthening of the policy of sanctions against individuals and organizations that contribute to the occupation of Crimea and violate the rights of Ukrainian citizens in the territories occupied by Russia.
According to information from the Representation of the President of Ukraine in ARC, to date 218 residents of Crimea (132 - Crimean Tatars) have been arrested and detained in places of deprivation of liberty in Crimea and in Russia due to politically motivated cases.
Russian authorities deny political repression in Crimea.