For the first time in Russia, a Ural resident was accused of extremism for searching for pictures on the Internet

For the first time in Russia, investigators opened a criminal case under the article on searching for extremist materials on the Internet. The accused was a 20-year-old doctor from Kamensk-Uralsky. This became known in November, but now the case materials have been updated and clarified, writes the Ural Meridian news agency.

According to the latest data, on September 24, a young man entered the query “Azov* brigade” into the Google search engine and opened a tab with images. The investigation believes that he was purposefully looking for the Azov* battalion insignia, which the court recognized as extremist material back in 2015. Previously, the protocol also mentioned materials about another banned organization, but in the final version this accusation disappeared.

Lawyer Sergei Barsukov claims that his client is accused of viewing images in search results, without going to the organizations’ websites themselves.

This is the first case in Russia initiated under a new article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation after President Vladimir Putin signed a law tightening liability for searching for certain materials on the Internet. The case has been sent to a magistrate, and the first hearing is scheduled for December 10.

* The organization is banned in the Russian Federation and recognized as extremist.

Newslab is now at MAX. News is also published in OK | VK | Zen | Telegram