The Moscow City Court left director Berkovich and screenwriter Petriychuk in jail

The Moscow City Court upheld the extension of the detention of director Yevgenia Berkovich and screenwriter Svetlana Petriychuk until September 10. The court of appeal did not find grounds for mitigating the measure of restraint for the authors of the production of Finist Yasny Sokol accused of justifying terrorism.

Back in early June, Berkovich’s defense filed a crime statement with the prosecutor’s office and the TFR with a demand to check the expert Roman Silantiev, who conducted a “destructological examination” on the case. Lawyers insist that the words contain signs of a crime under Art. 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (inciting hatred and enmity). It was this examination that formed the basis of the prosecution in the case of the performance. At the same time, the Ministry of Justice, in response to a request from the defense, explained that this type of examination does not exist, and therefore it cannot be included in the list of forensic examinations. During the session on July 31, Judge Sergei Artemov attached to the case file the application filed by the defense. Nevertheless, this did not become an argument for the release of Berkovich and Petriychuk.

Lawyers drew attention to the fact that Berkovich and Petriychuk are being held under arrest unreasonably also because the investigation is not actively investigating. Investigative actions, according to them, are practically not carried out, with the exception of Berkovich’s psychiatric examination. “Witnesses in the case have not yet been questioned,” said Berkovich’s lawyer Ksenia Karpinskaya.

The representative of the prosecutor’s office objected to the release of the director and playwright from arrest. The investigator did not appear at the hearing due to leave.

“I don’t understand how it turns out that for three years some state institutions praise the play and call it socially significant, while others put me in jail <...> How can we continue to engage in criminal activities. Will I rewrite the play again? <…> I ask you to change our measure of restraint to a softer one, ”Petriychuk said in an appeal.

On September 30, the Khamovniki Court extended their arrest until September 10. The investigation accuses Berkovich and Petriychuk of justifying terrorism (part 2 of article 205.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).

On May 4, the girls were taken to the UK and interrogated in the status of witnesses, in the evening of the same day they were charged. On May 5, the Zamoskvoretsky District Court decided to detain Berkovich and Petriychuk until July 4.

According to the materials of the investigation, the reason for initiating the case was the publication on YouTube of a reading of the play Finist the Clear Falcon, which contained signs of justifying terrorism and the ideology of ISIS (a terrorist organization banned in the Russian Federation).

Berkovich’s production Finist Yasny Sokol won two awards in 2022: the Golden Mask for Best Playwright and Best Costume Design. The play was based on documentary material – about women who met on the Internet and married terrorists, and then went to live with them in Syria. Lawyer Berkovich Karpinskaya, in turn, during her arrest on May 5, stated that the performance was not only unambiguously accepted among theatergoers as an exclusively condemning performance of Islam, but moreover, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation allocated 250,000 rubles as a grant for Berkovich’s performance.

On July 29, during a press conference after the Russia-Africa summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked whether “is it not our 37th year” in connection with the arrest of Berkovich and sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky (recognized as a foreign agent). Putin replied that it was now 2023 and Russia was in a state of armed conflict with its neighbor. According to him, “there should be a certain attitude towards those people who cause damage within the country.” At the same time, he noted that he was not aware of the criminal cases of Berkovich and Kagarlitsky, but admitted that “perhaps they do not deserve what they were treated with.”