Five conditionally – Newspaper Kommersant No. 141 (7342) of 08/05/2022

Former teacher of the State Autonomous Educational Institution of the Olympic Reserve School from Penza, Irina Gen, was sentenced to five years of probation for fakes about the Russian army. The court considered that Mrs. Gen, having a strong dislike for the President of the Russian Federation and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, told the children false information about the actions of the armed forces on the territory of Ukraine. Two students of the eighth grade asked the teacher why they would not go to competitions abroad, and her answers were recorded on a voice recorder. Irina Gen pleaded not guilty, but the defense of the ex-teacher does not plan to appeal the court decision.

The basis for initiating a criminal case on the dissemination of knowingly false information about the actions of the armed forces of the Russian Federation using official position for reasons of political hatred (clause “a”, clause “d” part 2 of article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) against a former teacher of English Penza GAOU RO “Olympic Reserve School” Irina Gen began a private conversation with two students of the eighth grade.

On March 18, eighth-graders asked the teacher why they would not go to competitions abroad. The teacher said that the reason for this was a special operation carried out by the Russian army in Ukraine.

In particular, she noted that Russia does not behave in a “civilized manner”, dissent in it is “considered a thought crime”, and for these statements, Ms. Gen noted, she herself “will go for 15 years”. The teacher also said that Russian troops allegedly bombed a maternity hospital in Mariupol, and she does not understand why Western Ukraine is being bombed. The schoolgirls recorded the conversation on a dictaphone and handed it over to law enforcement agencies. Later, the recording was partially distributed by several Telegram channels.

Immediately after the initiation of the criminal case, Ms. Gen quit the school, although, as she herself claimed, the leadership of the educational institution did not insist on such a step. During the investigation, the teacher was under house arrest.

Mrs. Gen did not plead guilty and in court, as her lawyer Alexander Fedulov said, she took the position that she studied various sources of information that represent different points of view on what was happening, so she could not understand what was really true and what was not.

The Leninsky District Court of Penza decided that the teacher told the students about the special operation of the Russian army in Ukraine in violation of the provisions of the job description, knowing about the ban on political campaigning at school, “acting deliberately, illegally, contrary to the established ban and wanting to violate it out of public interests she misunderstood , motivated by political hatred and enmity, experiencing persistent hostility towards the President of the Russian Federation – the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, who decided to conduct a special military operation to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine.

As follows from the court decision, the teacher aimed to form in the students a negative attitude towards the President of the Russian Federation, the armed forces of Russia and “persistent hostility, political hatred and enmity” towards them.

Ms. Gen is sentenced to five years of probation. She is also deprived of the right to engage in teaching activities for a period of three years.

Mr. Fedulov told Kommersant that he did not plan to appeal the court decision to the court of appeal, since “based on established practice”, the likelihood of acquittal is very low, moreover, there is a risk of imposing a sentence associated with real imprisonment.

Note that Art. 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the RF Armed Forces, the exercise by state bodies of the Russian Federation of their powers” ​​entered into force on March 5. The sanction provides from 5 to 15 years in prison. The rule on “false information” has now become the reason for initiating 77 criminal cases (according to the media project “OVD-Info” recognized by a foreign agent). Defendants on it are including politicians (Vladimir Kara-Murzarecognized as a foreign agent after the initiation of a case), journalists (including bloggers who had previously left the Russian Federation Veronika Belotserkovskaya and Alexander Nevzorovrecognized as foreign agents), activists, lawyers and lawyers (one of the last to be arrested was the head of the Bar Association of Udmurtia Dmitry Talantovthe lawyer of the former Kommersant correspondent Ivan Safronov, who has been under investigation for two years in a case of treason).

To the municipal deputy of the capital Alexei Gorinov, charged under Art. 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, court in July appointed seven years in prison for “anti-war” speech at a meeting of deputies. It is known that under Art. 207 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation to a fine of 1 million rubles. sentenced a resident of Transbaikalia, and according to the second – an inspector of the Ministry of Emergency Situations from the Crimea, who committed a crime while “in uniform”, was sentenced to five years on probation.

Sergei Petunin, Saratov; Maria Starikova