In Udmurtia, consideration of a criminal case has begun against the president of the regional bar chamber, Dmitry Talantov, who previously was the defender of the ex-special correspondent of Kommersant and Vedomosti Ivan Safronov. He is accused of spreading on Facebook (owned by Meta, which is recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation and blocked) fakes about the actions of the Russian armed forces and of inciting hatred and enmity. During the meeting, the defendant confirmed the fact of posting, but does not consider himself guilty.
The Zavyalovsky District Court of Udmurtia began considering a criminal case against lawyer Dmitry Talantov, who was previously one of the main defenders of journalist Ivan Safronov convicted on charges of treason for 22 years.
At the very beginning, Dmitry Talantov’s defender Pavel Biyanov asked that the case be considered closed, since it could contain information related to the case of Ivan Safronov and constituting a state secret. The prosecution spoke in favor of an open trial, since the case of Mr. Safronov does not concern the prosecution under consideration, moreover, neither the secretary of the court nor the prosecution has access to state secrets. After a break, the judge decided that the process would be open, but at the time of the disclosure of information regarding the case of Ivan Safronov, it would be closed.
As the prosecutor said at the meeting, the TFR believes that Dmitry Talantov spread false information about the actions of the Russian army on his Facebook page (owned by Meta, which is recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation and blocked). He was charged under paragraph “a” and paragraph “d” part 2 of Art. 207.3, as well as part 2 of Art. 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. According to investigators, Mr. Talantov posted five posts in which he expressed his harsh opinion and assessed what was happening in the Donbass.
All five posts by Dmitry Talantov were checked by psychological and linguistic expertise. According to the results of the study, she confirmed that the information in them is designed to incite hostility and hatred not only for the Russian army, but also for government officials, including the president.
The posts also contained false information about the actions of the RF Armed Forces on the territory of Ukraine, which discredited them and misled an unlimited circle of people, the prosecutor noted.
Dmitry Talantov said that he recognizes the very fact of posting, but does not consider it a crime: “I just think that I did not commit a crime. I both recognized, and I recognize (the fact of the publication of posts. – “Kommersant”). I didn’t think so, I don’t think so. I will not turn back from this position.” He added that none of his text materials, for which he was brought to criminal responsibility, contained any, including deliberately false, information about the use of the RF Armed Forces on the territory of Ukraine. “The prosecutor has now read out the indictment, but I don’t think anyone has ever heard: “the Russian army,” “Russian soldiers did this, did that.” All that is said there is about fixing events. I record events in a number of posts, I say where they come from. For example, I am quoting Zelensky’s speech at the UN,” Mr. Talantov commented.
According to the defendant, the publications are a reflection of the “humanistic values” that he professes, they do not contain signs of abuse of office and political hatred.
“My publications were carried out within the framework of the constitutional right granted to a Russian citizen of freedom of conscience, thought, speech, search and dissemination of information,” Dmitry Talantov added.
The defense side emphasized that Dmitry Talantov, among other things, is accused of spreading deliberately false information about the events in Bucha, but his posts were posted several hours earlier than the Russian Defense Ministry gave official explanations. “How could I make deliberately false, defamatory statements that do not correspond to the information of the Ministry of Defense, if they have not yet been published? The time is indicated there. What does it mean?” Dmitry Talantov was perplexed.
The lawyer and the defendant said that additional evidence of innocence would be presented. “I am deeply convinced that the consideration of the criminal case on my charge, based on the law, should end with a verdict of not guilty,” concluded Mr. Talantov.
In addition, the defense asked the court to change the preventive measure for Dmitry Talantov from detention to house arrest due to his illness. The court rejected the application.