“Extremist, undesirable, involved”: a Yekaterinburg lawyer dismantled banned organizations

Yulia Fedotova explained for participation in which communities punishment is threatened and talked about what undesirable organizations are in Russia.

In recent months, there has been no less talk about banned and undesirable organizations in Russia than there have been controversies about new strains of coronavirus. But if in the second case everything is clear, then it is almost impossible to understand what the extremist, undesirable, prohibited, involved, liquidated, foreign agents and other communities are.

Meanwhile, the list of such organizations that cannot be mentioned publicly is multiplying, confused, and it becomes more and more incomprehensible who is who and who and how it is impossible to mention. However, we turned to Yulia Fedotova, a Yekaterinburg lawyer, with a request to tell what kind of communities they are and how to distinguish them from each other.

Let’s try to figure it out.

To begin with, the basic thesis: organizations are registered as legal entities (with OGRN, TIN, KPP and other strange abbreviations), included in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, and unregistered. Based on this, we build understanding further.

1. Foreign agents – they were mentioned in the material under the link.

2. Extremists.

The Federal Law “On Counteracting Extremist Activity” suggests several options for interaction between the state and “organizations”:

1. liquidation – for legal entities;
2. b) prohibition of activity – for those who are not registered as a legal entity.
3. It is carried out by the court at the request of the prosecutor’s office or the Ministry of Justice.
4. After filing a claim, the activities of the organization are suspended until the court makes a decision. Continued participation in the activities of the suspended association constitutes an administrative offense (Article 20.28 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation, punishment in the form of a fine from 500 to 2000 rubles).
5. Based on this, there are extremist organizations and communities.

Extremist organizations are public or religious associations or other organizations in respect of which a court has passed a final decision on the liquidation or prohibition of activity. These are only those organizations that were included in the list of the Ministry of Justice.

Participation in them after official publication on the website provides for criminal liability and imprisonment for a term of two to six years. The criteria for participation are rather vague. The Supreme Court clarifies that participation is understood as “the commission by a person of intentional actions related to the continuation or resumption of the activities of this organization (conducting conversations in order to promote the activities of a banned organization, direct participation in ongoing events, etc.)”. Taking into account the fact that most of the extremist crimes are committed on the Internet, I suppose that both being in thematic communities and publishing information about an organization, for example, can be considered a crime. 2.2. Extremist communities are organized groups of persons created for the preparation or commission of extremist crimes (crimes committed based on political, ideological, racial, national or religious hatred or enmity, or out of hatred or enmity against any social group).

In fact, this is everyone who has not yet managed to get into the list of the Ministry of Justice. For participation in their activities (which, again, is not clearly defined), imprisonment for a term of two to six years is also provided.

Recently, the term “implicated” (citizens) has almost appeared in the law.

The State Duma in the third reading adopted amendments, which banned the election of citizens “involved in the activities of extremist / terrorist organizations.”

In addition to the actual participants, “involved” also means “members, employees, other persons involved in the activities of an extremist or terrorist organization”. Who is a member (sorry)? What is the difference between a member and an employee and a participant? Who are all these people? At the same time, in order to treat “other persons”, it is enough to show “an expression of support by statements, including statements on the Internet, as well as“ other assistance to activities (provision of funds, property, organizational, methodological, advisory or other assistance) to those goals and (or) forms of activity (including individual events) of the relevant organization ”or“ other actions ”. And this must be done one year before and three more years after the entry into force of the court decision. I think there is no need to explain that this law was written under the FBK (included in the register of organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent, and without five minutes an extremist) and its supporters.

“Unwanted”.

Formally, these are only foreign or international organizations that are included in the special list of the Ministry of Justice. There are “only” 31 organizations, but in fact they are involved only for any (generally for any) contacts with “Open Russia” in its various forms. It is enough to comment on the relevant media, attend an organized event, make a post or repost. Despite the fact that the Russian organization has no connection, except for the similarity of the name, with the foreign one.

Participation in the activities of such an organization implies administrative responsibility for the first time (a fine from 5,000 to 15,000 rubles). Repetition entails criminal liability under Art. 284.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The current edition provides that responsibility comes after the commission of two administrative offenses during the year – on the third. Recently, the deputies proposed reducing the number of administrative ones to two and imprisoning people for a term of one to four years, and for leadership – from two to six. Currently, the punishment is uniform – from two to six years in a colony.

To be honest, it’s hard for me to summarize what has been said. I can only say that vague legal norms, which actually persecute the collective expression of views, are evil, and stupid and repressive laws adopted in batches have little to do with jurisprudence.