The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case under the article on “discrediting” the army against Eduard Charov, a Christian preacher from the Sverdlovsk Region.

 

On 27 June, the notification about the initiation of the case was published by the preacher’s wife Inna Charova, attention to the publication was drawn by the publication “7×7. Horizontal Russia.

The reason for the case was a repost of a picture about patriotism that Charov made on 3 September 2023, his wife told journalists. “A patriot is someone who wants to make his country better, the people richer, and the authorities more honest and fair. And not someone who justifies poverty and corruption with imaginary greatness and spiritual crosses,” the picture reads

According to Charova, the expert found in the publication “signs of convincing the addressee in the negative nature of the goals of the execution by the state bodies of the Russian Federation of their powers, i.e. their discrediting”.

This is the second criminal case for the preacher. In February, he was charged under the article on justification of terrorism (Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code) because of a comment under a news item about an attempted arson attack on a military recruitment centre. According to this criminal case, the preacher is under a ban on certain actions: he is not allowed to use the telephone and the Internet, as well as to leave the Krasnoufimsky district without the permission of the investigator, writes “OVD-Info”. In mid-May, the preacher was included in the list of extremists and terrorists.

Charova said in a comment to the Govorit NeMoskva project that the notice of a new criminal case came in the mail this week. According to her, the two criminal cases were merged into one. After the spouse familiarises himself with the materials, they will be handed over to the court. “He has not been summoned anywhere, no preventive measure has been appointed. If they decided to put him in jail, they will put him in jail. I believe that we have no justice,” she added.

Eduard Charov is known for founding a shelter for the homeless in the Sverdlovsk village of Savinovo. After mobilisation was announced in Russia, he called to this shelter all those who did not want to go to war.

In the spring of 2023, Charov was fined 65,000 rubles for anti-war publications: 45,000 rubles under the article on “discrediting” the army and another 20,000 rubles under the article on incitement to hatred or hostility, according to OVD Info.

Source: meduza.io