Russian Anti-War Activist Dmitry Skurikhin Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for "Discrediting" the Military

Russian anti-war activist and entrepreneur Dmitry Skurikhin (Дмитрий Скурихин) has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for "discrediting" the Russian military after he displayed a poster with the words "Sorry, Ukraine" ("Прости, Украина").

A court in Lomonosov, an inner-city municipality within St. Petersburg, found him guilty of "repeatedly discrediting the army." The poster was ordered to be burned. The prosecution had demanded that Skurikhin be sentenced to 2.5 years in prison.

Russian authorities opened two separate criminal cases against Skurikhin.

Skurikhin and his wife in front of the Lomonosov District Court on July 28. Screenshot from Sotavision YouTube channel

The first case dates back to 2022, after the enterpreneur painted the façade of his store with anti-war slogans and the names of Ukrainian cities that were attacked by the Russian army.

Investigators searched his house for 11 hours: they broke the door, smashed a window, seized phones and computers, including those belonging to his children.

A second case against Skurikhin was filed in February this year after he knelt down holding a poster "Sorry, Ukraine" on the anniversary of the Russian invasion. Photos of his protest went viral on social media in Russia.

On February 24 he was arrested. In April, he was released and placed under house arrest. In May, a District Court in St. Petersburg fined him 45,000 rubles in an administrative case for "discrediting" the army because of an anti-war video he posted on Telegram.

Skurikhin's anti-war activism began as far back as 2014. After Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed the region of Crimea, he wrote on his store front in huge letters: "Peace to Ukraine, freedom to Russia" ("Мир Украине, свободу России").

In June 2023, the anti-war slogans on the façade of his store were painted over by unknown persons. Footage from his surveillance camera showed eight people arriving at the building at night: five painted over the façade, while the other three filmed what was happening.

In 2022 the Russian government introduced legislation against "discrediting" the military.

Article 280.3 states that "public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation" are punishable by fines and prison terms of up to five years.

Article 207.3 states that "public dissemination of deliberately false information about the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation" is punishable by fines and prison sentences of up to 15 years

•••

If you found this article interesting, you may like some of my books:

Alternatively, consider supporting me at ko-fi.com/aristeon89

Sources:

https://www.bbc.com/russian/articles/c4n5v92k30no

https://meduza.io/en/news/2023/02/26/russian-activist-arrested-charged-with-discrediting-the-army-after-a-one-man-anti-war-protest

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/how-russia-is-applying-new-laws-stifle-dissent-ukraine-2022-08-26/

https://youtu.be/ZhPinrEPSZM

Comments

The Window Trick of Las Vegas Hotels

When I lived in Hong Kong I often passed by a residential apartment complex commonly known as the " monster building ". " Interior of the Yick Cheong Building November 2016 " by Nick-D is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 . _____

Living in Taiwan: Seven Reasons Why It's Good to Be Here

Chinese New Year can be a pretty boring time for a foreigner. All of my friends were celebrating with their families, and since I have no family here, nor have I a girlfriend whose family I could join, I had nothing special to do. Shops and cafes were closed - apart from big chains like McDonald's or Starbucks, which were overcrowded anyway. So I had a lot of time to think. On Saturday evening I went out to buy my dinner. While I was walking around, I heard the voices of the people inside their homes, the sounds of their New Year celebrations. Then I suddenly asked myself: "What on earth are you doing here? Why are you still in Taiwan?" Before I came to Taiwan, some Taiwanese friends of mine had recommended me their country, highly prasing it and going so far as to say that Taiwan is a "paradise for foreigners" (bear in mind that when I say foreigners I mean 'Westerners'). "It's easy for foreigners to find a job," t...

Is China's MINISO Copying Japan's MUJI, UNIQLO and Daiso?

Over the past few years Japanese retailers such as UNIQLO and MUJI have conquered foreign markets, opening shops in cities such as Paris, Berlin or New York and becoming household names in several countries. But the success of their business model seems to have inspired people with dubious intentions. As the website Daliulian recently showed, a new chain called MINISO, which claims to be a Japanese company selling ‘100% Japanese products’, seems to be nothing more than a knock-off of UNIQLO, MUJI and Daiso, copying their logos, names and even the layout of their stores. The company’s webpage proudly announces – in terrible English – that “ MINISO is a fast fashion designer brand of Japan. Headquartered in Tokyo Japan, Japanese young designer Miyake Jyunya is founder as well as the chief designer of MINISO, a pioneer in global 'Fashion & Casual Superior Products' field. ” According to the company’s homepage, MINISO advocates the philosophy of a simple, ...

Macau: Gambling, Corruption, Prostitution, and Fake Worlds

As I mentioned in my previous post , Macau has different faces and identities: there is the old Macau, full of colonial buildings and in which the pace of life seems to resemble a relaxed Mediterranean town rather than a bustling, hectic Chinese city, such as Hong Kong or Shanghai. On the other hand, there is the Macau of gambling, of gigantic hotel and casino resorts, and of prostitution. These two Macaus seem to be spatially separated from each other, with an intact colonial city centre and nice outskirts with small alleys on the one side, and bombastic, modern buildings on the other. The Galaxy - one of the huge casino and hotel resorts The Importance of Gambling for Macau's Economy Dubbed the 'Monte Carlo of the East', Macau has often been portrayed as the gambling capital of China. Media reporting on Macau tend present pictures of the city's glistening, apparently luxurious skyline. But a visit in Macau suffices to realize that it is fa...

Trip to Tainan

Tainan Train Station Last weekend I made a one day trip to the Southern Taiwanese city of Tainan (Chinese: 臺南, pinyin: Táinán), the former capital and one of the most important centres of culture, history and architecture of the island. This blog post is also intended as a special thank to Grace, a Taiwanese friend who was so kind to show me around, and very patient, too. Since Tainan doesn't have an extensive public transport net, Grace picked me up at the train station with her motorcycle, a vehicle that, along with cars, is regarded by locals as indispensable for living comfortably in Tainan. To my great embarrassment, though, I had to admit that I cannot ride a motorcycle. That's why we had to take busses to move around. It was the first time she ever took a bus in Tainan. And now I know why: busses come more or less every half an hour, and service stops early in the evening. No wonder Tainanese snob public transport. Grace had no idea about the routes and about whe...

Schedium

Search This Blog