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On 31 May the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced Igor Paskar to eight-and-a-half years’ imprisonment on charges of “vandalism” and “terrorism”. He was found guilty of burning a Z-banner [a pro-war symbol] and the symbolic firebombing of the FSB [Federal Security Service] building in Krasnodar. The day before his sentencing, Igor gave his final statement in court. Here is a translation of his speech:

“In our last meeting with Azat Miftakhov it was decided to write about the pressure security forces exert on Azat, previously not brought up by the support group – reports the channel FreeAzat! We were not doing it because at the beginning of his incarceration, we heard about Azat’s unwillingness to disclose this topic – back when it was too sensitive for him. Later in the penal colony, at his suggestion, we wanted to reserve the topic in case the administration uses pressure on prisoners with (political) status."

On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the first anti-authoritarian international, international meetings are being prepared in the Swiss Jura mountains. They will take place from July 19 to 23, 2023. 

You may read the full information on the website. 

As part of the gathering, we would like to announce two events, organised by Autonomous Action and Anarchist Black Cross – Moscow.

Supporting anarchist and anti-war prisoners in Russia

On May 29, anti-war activist Alexey Rozhkov, who had fled from Russia to Kyrgyzstan, was extending his temporary registration in his host country. And the very next day, early in the morning, security forces broke into his home. On June 7, lawyer Kamil Isabekov visited Alexey Rozhkov in a temporary detention center in the suburbs of Yekaterinburg (the largest city in the Urals) to find out the circumstances of his transfer to Russia.  Anti-war human rights initiative Solidarity Zone wrote about it.

18-year-old Mikhail Lazakovich from Tver, was detained on May 9 on suspicion of setting fire to a military recruitment center in Likhoslavl, 50 km from Tver. On the advice of his appointed lawyer, the young man did not deny his involvement in the arson. However, instead of the promised mitigation of punishment, the charge was reclassified from "attempted damage to property" to "an act of terrorism". 

After being charged under the "terrorist" article (Part 1 of Article 205 of the Russian Criminal Code), Mikhail refused to testify and plead guilty of terrorism.

Sometimes you’ll hear people say that in modern Russia, it’s a waste of money to hire a lawyer for politically motivated cases. After all, they say, the person will be found guilty either way, and they’ll still get a sentence.

Solidarity Zone explain why having a lawyer is vital for political prisoners in Russia.

Kirill Butylin carried out the first known arson attack on a military enlistment office following the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. On 28th of  February 2022 the young man threw Molotov cocktails at the enlistment office in the town of Lukhovitsa in the Moscow region.

On the 4th of January 2023 32 year old Yaroslav Vilchevski was arrested for posting on his telegram channel about the anarchist Mikhail Zhobitski. Radio Liberty has called him an anarchist, but himself he is identifying himself as animal rights activist and musician. Radio Liberty has quoted some of his comments, and he has also criticized the mass mobilization when it was announced in Russia.

10th of April, the Central District Military Court in Yekaterinburg sentenced Roman Nasryev and Aleksey Nureyev to 19 years in prison for firebombing an administrative building, where the military registration desk is based. Roman and Aleksey must spend the first 4 years in prison, and the next — in a maximum-security penal colony.

This is the most severe sentence handed down so far for anti-war arson.

This update was provided by ABC-Moscow for German Das Antifaschistische Infoblatt issue 138. This version has some minor updates with numbers mentioned. 

On the night of October 6 in Goryachi Klyuch city of Krasnodar region unknown persons set fire to military registration and enlistment office. The next day the law enforcers detained two suspects.

The detainees turned out to be 27-year-old citizen of Minsk (Belarus) Bogdan Abdurakhmanov and 34-year-old resident of Krasnodar Boris Goncharenko.

Yegor Balazeikin is sixteen years old.

Ilya is a young guy from Novosibirsk. He opposes war, loves animals and plays sports: from CrossFit to swimming. Ilya was detained at the end of September and accused of trying to set fire to the military enlistment office. The case was opened under the article on the organization of a terrorist attack (part 4 of article 205.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), which provides punishment from 15 to 20 years in jail or life imprisonment.

Ruslan Zinin’s mother Marina Zinina has reported that on March 21 [her son] was transferred to a solitary confinement cell without explanation.

“They came and took him away, saying, ‘Let’s go to another place.’ They put him in the basement in a solitary confinement cell. […] The conditions are terrible. It’s damp and cold and reeks of sewage, and rats are running around, and there’s nothing in the cell at all, except for a cot. There’s nowhere to store food, nowhere to get water, there’s no kettle, there’s nothing.”

Fundraiser for continuing Viktor “Vitya” Filinkov’s campaign against the FSIN, the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service!

I haven’t written here for a long time generally and about Vitya in particular. We haven’t seen each other for almost two months. That’s an awfully long time, and I miss him terribly. Soon I will fly back to Orenburg and tell you how Vitya is doing, but after meeting with him.

Eastern Siberia is a harsh and inhospitable region, which was a place of imprisonment and exile for socialists and anarchists under the tsarist regime. As you can see, history repeats itself.

Here is how the Anarchist Black Cross of Irkutsk sums up the year of its work. It actually coincided with the anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine:

Logging truck driver Ruslan Zinin grabbed a sawed-off shotgun when, in the wake of the “partial” mobilization’s annoucement, a summons arrived for his brother. On September 26, Zinin went to the military enlistment office in Ust-Ilimsk (Irkutsk Region). Military commissar Alexander Yeliseyev was giving a speech as he dispatched dozens of people to the slaughter.

Kirill has been transferred to a remand prison in Tyumen. Support group sent a lawyer to discuss with him, but a letter of refusal was passed to lawyer 7th of March. Refusal was in handwriting of Kirill Brik, but we do not know in which conditions the letter has been signed, and there is no proof that Kirill is currently not being tortured.

Please call to remand prison of Tyumen, this way they will know that we are watching how they plan to treat Kirill:: +73452507104

Throughout February, like the previous months, we worked day in and day out, covering the persecution and providing support for those accused of anti-war activities. We were so immersed in work that we did not notice how the shortest month of the year ended. And now, with a little delay, we rush to tell you about the results of February.

In February, the participants of Solidarity Zone:

On March 6, 2022, Zhuchkov and Sergeev went to an anti-war demonstration in Moscow. However, the police detained them on their way: in the area of Pushkinskaya Square. Molotov cocktails were found in Sergeyev's backpack, and the men were taken to the police station.