Russians on trial for memes, networks ask for law change
MOscOw: In 2015, Eduard Nikitin shared a joke on social media about Russia’s bleak future.
Three years later he is facing trial on extremism charges over this and one other meme.
The case against the 42-year-old is part of a wider trend that has seen Russian authorities bring charges against people for seemingly innocuous, humorous posts in increasing numbers.
Lawyers say the Kremlin is trying to force people to think twice before sharing opinions online – one of the last remaining spaces where the opposition is relatively free to organise.
“It turns out that for a harmless joke, anybody who doesn’t agree with our country’s leadership can be prosecuted,” Nikitin’s lawyer Maxim Kamakin said after a preliminary hearing in Saint Petersburg on Aug 20.
“It seems that in our country only optimists have the right to exist.”
In one of the incriminating posts from Nikitin, who is disabled and currently unemployed, a father crudely tells his son that nothing will be getting better in Russia any time soon.
The other features a drawing of a “vatnik” – a padded coat popular during the Soviet period that is also slang for uneducated Russians who uncritically follow those in authority.
The “absurd” case has seen Nikitin’s bank account blocked, his computer briefly confiscated and left the activist unable to participate in any opposition campaigns, according to his lawyer.
The vaguely worded charges he faces – inciting hatred or degradation of human dignity – carry a maximum six-year jail term, though most convictions lead to a shorter sentence, fine or community service.
Such cases are not new but several high-profile investigations, along with an intervention from the operator of Russia’s largest social networks, has dragged the issue back into the spotlight.
“Too often the actions of law enforcement agencies clearly do not correspond to the potential threat and their reaction to posts or memes are groundlessly harsh,” Mail.ru, which owns the VKontakte network – Russia’s Facebook equivalent– said earlier in the month. — AFP