The Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case on the dissemination of calls on minors to participate in unauthorized rallies and actions on social networks. This was announced on January 22 by the official representative of the RF IC, Svetlana Petrenko.
“A criminal case has been initiated on the basis of a crime under paragraphs“ a ”,“ c ”of Part 2 of Art. 151.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Involvement of minors in the commission of unlawful acts, knowingly posing a danger to the life of minors, through information and telecommunication networks”) “, – said Petrenko.
She recalled that restrictions related to the spread of COVID-19 are in effect on the territory of Moscow and other constituent entities of the Russian Federation, so the authorities refused to hold rallies on January 23.
Earlier that day, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin called unauthorized rallies on 23 January unacceptable. Sobyanin called the attempts to involve minors in the events cynical and urged residents of the capital to refuse to participate in illegal actions.
On January 22, the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation issued repeated warnings in connection with the spread of calls for participation in unauthorized events. As the department recalled, these actions are an administrative violation and may result in sanctions.
A day earlier, the hashtag #ChildrenVnePolitiki was launched on the Internet to ensure the safety of minors in connection with calls to go to unauthorized actions. It was noted that on January 20, there was a massive spread of calls to participate in rallies on social networks. Moreover, the addressees of distribution were minors with an emphasis on children aged 12-14 years.
By taking part in illegal activities, children are at risk of being involved in riots, delinquency and crime. Minors can be traumatized by people in crowds. In addition, for participation in illegal actions, a fine from 10 thousand to 20 thousand rubles is provided, or compulsory work for a period of 100 hours, or arrest for up to 15 days.
On January 21, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Russian Federation called for restricting access to websites calling for illegal actions. Roskomnadzor also demanded that TikTok and VKontakte remove calls for minors to participate in protests.