Court Cancels Activist's Case for Posting Navalny Photo
On 20 January, lawyer Alexei Kalugin reported that the Third Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction had fully overturned the ruling in the case against Savva Fedoseyev for displaying extremist symbols. The case was based on his posting of a photograph of Alexei Navalny, who is listed on a register of extremists and terrorists.
«The ruling has been overturned in full, and the proceedings have been terminated. We haven»t seen the actual ruling yet, but this result is a major success in any case,« Kalugin stated.
He noted that this is the first successful instance of such a decision being overturned in Russia. Fedoseyev, a coordinator for the organization Obshchestvo. Budushchee (Society. The Future), was sentenced to 13 days of arrest in mid-September 2024 by the Kirovsky District Court of St. Petersburg. The reason was a photo of Navalny posted on social media on 16 February 2024, when news of the politician«s death in a penal colony became known. In the accompanying text, Fedoseyev expressed a critical attitude toward the opposition figure»s ideas.
Other public figures have been fined under the same Article 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (demonstrating symbols of extremist organizations). Deputy Mikhail Amosov was fined 1,500 rubles (approximately $17 at current rates). Olga Shtannikova, a deputy from the Yabloko party, was charged for a post featuring a 12-year-old photo of Navalny. Nikolai Rybakov, chairman of the Yabloko party, also received a fine.
Being charged under this article carries a one-year ban on participating in elections after paying the fine or serving the arrest. Amosov avoided this by paying the fine before the deadline. The others, except for Fedoseyev, will be unable to run for the State Duma and Legislative Assembly in September 2026. Fedoseyev himself stated that he had not planned to participate in elections due to other projects, including opening a new location for the Listva bookshop.
