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On 13 May, the Central District Military Court sentenced 34-year-old Ufa resident Kirill Bobrov to 16 years in prison on charges of setting fire to government buildings and inciting hatred against the authorities, businesspeople, and members of the United Russia party. The verdict was reported by the court and highlighted by media outlet Idel.Realii.
The court found Bobrov guilty of organising an extremist community (Part 1, Article 282.1 of the Criminal Code), inciting hatred or enmity with violence and as part of an organised group (subparagraphs “a” and “v” of Part 2, Article 282), public calls for terrorism (Part 1, Article 205.2), and five arson attacks carried out by a group of people (subparagraph “a” of Part 2, Article 205).
According to the sentence, he must spend the first five years in prison and the remaining years in a strict-regime correctional colony.
The court stated that in November 2011, Bobrov, “being dissatisfied with the political system and state authorities” in Russia, set up “an extremist community …> to incite hatred or enmity and demean the dignity” of businesspeople, officials of government bodies, and members of United Russia.
He also reportedly posted videos online of setting fire to government buildings and left comments criticising the authorities in Russia. According to the court, he did this “in order to destabilise the functioning of state authorities” and “with the aim of violently changing the foundations of the constitutional order and violating the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation.”