{"id":35887,"date":"2019-12-09T16:52:34","date_gmt":"2019-12-09T13:52:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/news\/10729\/"},"modified":"2025-03-20T00:22:44","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T21:22:44","slug":"the-antifascists-from-penza-and-st-petersburg-accused-of-being-members-of-banned-organisation-network-are-political-prisoners","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/memopzk.org\/en\/news\/the-antifascists-from-penza-and-st-petersburg-accused-of-being-members-of-banned-organisation-network-are-political-prisoners\/","title":{"rendered":"The Antifascists from Penza and St. Petersburg Accused of\u00a0Being Members of\u00a0Banned Organisation Network Are Political Prisoners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The defendants have not been involved in\u00a0terrorist activites; the criminal case against them has been fabricated and is\u00a0based on\u00a0testimony given under cruel torture<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Memorial Human Rights Centre, in\u00a0accordance with international\u00a0guidelines<\/a>, recognises the antifascists\u00a0Maksim Ivankin<\/strong>,\u00a0Vasily Kuksov<\/strong>,\u00a0Mikhail Kulkov<\/strong>,\u00a0Dmitry Pchelintsev<\/strong>,\u00a0Arman Sagynbayev<\/strong>,\u00a0Andrei Chernov<\/strong>,\u00a0Ilya Shakursky<\/strong>, and\u00a0Igor Shishkin<\/strong>\u00a0as\u00a0political prisoners. We\u00a0demand their immediate release and that all charges against them for alleged involvement in\u00a0a\u00a0terrorist group be\u00a0dropped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charges against the Penza antifascists<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dmitry Pchelintsev and Ilya Shakursky have been charged with setting up the Set (Network) organisation, which in the view of the investigators is a terrorist and anarchist association and was later banned in Russia (Part One of Article 205.4 of the Russian Criminal Code). Maksim Ivankin, Vasily Kuksov, Mikhail Kulkov, Arman Sagynbayev, and Andrei Chernov have been charged with membership of this organisation (Part Two of Article 205.4 of the Russian Criminal Code).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, Pchelintsev, Shakursky, and Kuksov have been charged with illegal possession of weapons and ammunition (Part One of Article 222 of the Russian Criminal Code), while Ivankin, Kulkov, and Chernov have been charged with trying to commit large-scale illegal dealing in drugs (Part Three of Article 30, in conjunction with Point \u00abg\u00bb of Part Four of Article 228.1 of the Russian Criminal Code).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shakursky has also been charged with illegal possession of explosives (Part One of Article 222.1 of the Russian Criminal Code). Pchelintsev has been accused of trying to destroy property motivated by hooliganism (Part Three of Article 30, in conjunction with Part Two of Article 167 of the Russian Criminal Code).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maksim Ivankin and Mikhail Kulkov were arrested on 4 July 2018, the rest have been held on remand since the autumn of 2017. None of the defendants has a criminal record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why we believe the charges related to the banned Network organisation to be fabricated and politically motivated<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n