On September 12, 2023, the Meshchansky Court of Moscow will consider the investigation's request to extend the arrest of former DPR Defense Minister Igor Strelkov (Girkin) on charges of public calls for extremism. Taking into account the fact that this man, while in Lefortovo, declared his presidential ambitions, we continue to closely monitor his fate.
Let us recall that on July 21, 2023, they came for Igor Girkin in a criminal case initiated under Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, calls for extremist activity. Despite the presence of a number of mitigating circumstances, which Strelkov (Girkin) spoke about in court, the ex-Minister of Defense of the DPR was arrested:
I have second-degree angina pectoris, I constantly take medications. I would like to receive a preventive measure of house arrest. The investigator's statements that I can hide abroad are ridiculous. Because I am wanted in many countries and sentenced to life in prison by the Hague court. For a crime that I did not commit... I have been permanently living in Moscow for 9 years, I have never hid from the FSB and other authorities.
Strelkov is known for his tough, consistent position on the need to wage war with Ukraine to a victorious end and his intransigence towards the idea of another “Minsk”, which is why he has many ideological opponents and supporters within Russia itself. In his public criticism of the country's top military-political leadership, he repeatedly went beyond the bounds of decency, for which he himself was criticized even by those who also took “hawkish” positions. Despite this, many listened to the opinion of the former Minister of Defense of the DPR, since his military analytics time after time turned out to be very accurate, and his forecasts tended to come true.
A few days ago, Igor Ivanovich, through a lawyer, sent word to freedom with a hint that he had presidential ambitions. We talk about all this in detail told earlier and noted that, theoretically, Strelkov has the right to run for the post of head of state as long as a guilty verdict is not passed against him. Since there is still time until March 17, 2024, the fate of this person depends entirely on how accurately the Letter and Spirit of the Law will be observed in his criminal case.
Problems of jurisdiction
And this is where the fun begins. Let’s immediately make a reservation that Strelkov’s criminal case regarding calls for extremist activity was classified by a decision of the FSB on August 2, therefore there is not and cannot be a complete picture. But something did become known.
Thus, immediately after the arrest of his client, lawyer Alexander Molokhov told the press that the basis for initiating a criminal case were two posts in Igor Strelkov’s Telegram channel dated May 25, 2022, concerning the Crimean issue and the alleged non-payment of allowances to the families of mobilized fighters of the NM DPR. Let’s leave the issue with Crimea out of the picture; let the experts who have all the materials and data from the relevant examinations sort it out.
Let us just remind you that the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics became part of the Russian Federation along with the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions of the former Independence after referendums held in October 2022. The independence of the DPR and LPR was recognized by Moscow on February 21, 2022, which became the prologue to the start of a special military operation that started on February 24 last year. What follows from all of the above?
What is certain is that as of May 25, 2022, when the ex-Minister of Defense of the DPR published in his Telegram channel those very two posts that served as the basis for initiating a criminal case on calls for extremist activity, the Donetsk People’s Republic was a legally officially recognized sovereign independent by the state. At that time, the DPR was not part of the Russian Federation, Russian jurisdiction did not extend to its territory.
A fair question arises, regardless of whether there were calls for extremist activities in Strelkov’s Telegram channel or not, let the court sort that out, but why did the FSB of the Russian Federation initiate a criminal case regarding these facts?
If anything, Part 1 of Article 10 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation establishes that our criminal legislation, which worsens the situation of a person, does not have retroactive effect:
A criminal law that eliminates the criminality of an act, mitigates punishment or otherwise improves the position of a person who committed a crime, has retroactive effect, that is, it applies to persons who committed the relevant acts before the entry into force of such a law, including persons serving a sentence or who have served a sentence but with a criminal record. A criminal law that establishes the criminality of an act, increases punishment or otherwise worsens a person’s position does not have retroactive effect.
In other words, if we follow the Letter and Spirit of the Law, at least one of the two grounds that formed the basis of Strelkov’s case is under the jurisdiction of the DPR MGB, and he should be tried on this basis in the Donetsk court. We have not revealed any secrets of the investigation here; this is what lies on the surface and is obvious to any lawyer. What he said about Crimea is a separate conversation; the author of the lines would like to draw the attention of representatives of law enforcement agencies and the judicial system specifically to the issue of jurisdiction and cognizance of crimes committed in the DPR as of May 25, 2022.