{"id":3368,"date":"2019-04-10T19:50:27","date_gmt":"2019-04-10T16:50:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/?p=3368"},"modified":"2019-04-10T19:52:22","modified_gmt":"2019-04-10T16:52:22","slug":"network-trial-begins-in-petersburg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/2019\/04\/10\/network-trial-begins-in-petersburg\/","title":{"rendered":"Network Trial Begins in Petersburg"},"content":{"rendered":"

Network case defendants Viktor Filinkov and Yuli Boyarshinov in the cage at court yesterday. Filinkov (left) wears a sweatshirt emblazoned with the slogan, \u201cYour taser can\u2019t kill our ideas.\u201d Photo by Alexander Koryakov. Courtesy of Kommersant<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Defendants Were Assigned Roles: Network Trial Gets Underway in Petersburg<\/strong>
\nAnna Pushkarskaya
\nKommersant<\/a>
\nApril 9, 2019<\/p>\n

The court trial in the case of the \u201canarchist terrorist community\u201d Network<\/a> got underway in St. Petersburg. Viktor Filinkov<\/a>, a 24-year-old programmer, and Yuli Boyarshinov<\/a>, a 27-year-old industrial climber, have been charged with involvement in Network. Federation Council member Lyudmila Narusova<\/a>, who attended the hearing, pointed out the \u201cability to throw grenades,\u201d which the prosecution included in the evidence against the defendants, was taught officially to members of the patriotic youth movement Yunarmiya<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThis case has nothing to do with the rule of law,\u201d Narusova noted.<\/em><\/p>\n

Filinkov and Boyarshinov\u2019s case is being tried in St. Petersburg by the Moscow District Military Court. In January, the same court sentenced<\/a> Igor Shishkin, who made a deal with case investigators, to three and a half years in prison. Subsequently, the FSB placed Network on the Russian federal list of banned organizations.<\/p>\n

The courtroom could not accommodate everyone who wanted to attended the trial. Narusova and ex-State Duma member and civil rights activist Yuli Rybakov<\/a> were in the gallery.<\/p>\n

The defendants were applauded by the gallery as armed guards led them into the courtroom.<\/p>\n

During the investigation, Filinkov and three young men in Penza also charged in the case publicly stated they had been tortured with electrical shocks. Boyarshinov claimed conditions in the remand prison were tantamount to torture. Both men have filed complaints with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) <\/a>in Strasbourg.<\/p>\n

Lawyer Vitaly Cherkasov<\/a> motioned the court to let his defendant, Filinkov, sit beside him during the hearing, rather than in the cage, since he had no criminal record or history of conflicts with the law.<\/p>\n

The presence in the courtroom of riot police, regular police, and court bailiffs, as well as Cherkasov\u2019s mention of international norms, how things were done at the EHCR, and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev\u2019s order to his underlings to explore options for banning the use of the cage in Russian courtrooms made no impression on the court. Both defendants were kept in the cage for the entire hearing.<\/p>\n

According to the indictment, the so-called anarchist terrorist community was established no later than May 2015 by Dmitry Pchelintsev<\/a> (who was arrested in Penza) and an unidentified person. They recruited the seven defendants in the case who have been investigated by the FSB\u2019s Penza office. After cementing the group, they are alleged to have \u201cassigned roles among themselves and explored ways of committing crimes\u201d in order to overthrow the regime. According to the prosecution, to accomplish this objective, they planned on \u201cestablishing combat groups and recruiting individuals who shared their anarchist ideology.\u201d<\/p>\n

The FSB\u2019s Petersburg office has claimed the defendants were among these recruits. Filinkov has been accused of volunteering to be the group\u2019s \u201cradioman,\u201d while Boyarshinov was, allegedly, their \u201csapper.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the indictment had been read, Judge Roman Muranov asked the defendants whether they understood it.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Filinkov replied.<\/p>\n

The prosecution claims Filinkov promised to \u201cfamiliarize himself with the community\u2019s charter, employ a pseudonym, data encryption software,\u00a0 and conspiratorial methods, and acquire and improve [his] combat skills.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, Filinkov was supposed to have \u201csupplied members with communications devices,\u201d taught them encryption, \u201crecruited other individuals, discussed and planned crimes during meetings, attended classes on tactics, reconnaissance, sabotage, and combat, and the use of weapons and explosive devices, and acquired the knowledge necessary in extreme circumstances and combat conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the time came to shift to active operations for accomplishing the objective part of the crimes [sic<\/em>],\u201d Filinkov, allegedly, agreed to \u201cmobilize and be ready to achieve the terrorist community\u2019s objectives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand the source of these letters, nor how the indictment could be a fiction, rather than something emerging from the evidence,\u201d said Filinkov.<\/p>\n

After hearing similar charges made against him, Boyarshinkov said he admitted his guilt and was willing to testify before the examination of evidence.<\/p>\n

After the hearing, MP Narusova said the incidents of combat training, as described in the indictment, had nothing to do with the law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Yunarmiya officially engages in combat training under the patronage of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Children are taught to throw grenades, and they learn combat tactics. Ask Shoigu why the entire Yunarmiya is busy learning combat skills?\u201d Narusova wondered.<\/p>\n

\u201cA fellow Federation Council member recently said children should be able to throw grenades,\u201d Narusova continued.<\/p>\n

She referred to a recent statement by Federation Council member Viktor Bondarev<\/a>, who had proposed reinstating basic combat training in Russian schools. He claimed to be outraged children did not know how to throw grenades and were afraid of machine guns.<\/p>\n

Ms. Narusova said she was drafting a law bill that would criminalize torture. She also said planned to get to the bottom of the Network case.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis case has nothing to do with the rule of law,\u201d Narusova noted.<\/p>\n

In their testimony, the defendants insisted they were learning the alleged skills as a matter of self-defense, given the numbers of antifascists murdered in different parts of Russia in recent years.<\/p>\n

In particular, Filinkov mentioned the murders of Timur Kacharava<\/a>, Stanislav Markelov<\/a>, and Anastasia Baburova<\/a>. He reported that, during his studies at Omsk University, he and his friends had been attacked by \u201cright-wing radicals, neo-Nazis, and fascists,\u201d including provocateurs who, he alleged, had ties with law enforcement agencies.<\/p>\n

According to Filinkov, the assailants in these clashes had been armed with \u201cblades and stun guns.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the investigation was completed, the headmaster of the school Filinkov attended submitted a glowing letter of recommendation<\/a>. The letter claims the defendant had always shown respect for the law, and was friendly, conscientious, and responsible. He had been an excellent student and won a prize at an academic astronomy competition at Baikonur.<\/p>\n

Kommersant<\/em> will be following the trial\u2019s progress.<\/p>\n

Translated by the Russian Reader<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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What can you do to support the Penza and Petersburg antifascists and anarchists who have been tortured and imprisoned by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB)?<\/strong><\/p>\n