A  military court in St. Petersburg sentenced two more anarchist defendants in the ongoing “Network” case to prison today. Viktor Filinkov received a verdict of 7 years and Yuly Boyarshinov 5.5 years in a penal colony. The judge also ordered the evidence in the case to be destroyed.

Filinkov and Boyarshinov were arrested by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in January 2018. Following the arrests, Filinkov was tortured during investigation in order to extract a confession of him. FSB officers were also threatening to worsen Boyarshinov’s prison conditions should he not cooperate with the investigation. He was subsequently moved to a cell with 150 other prisoners.

The two were accused of “terrorist activity”. According to the prosecutor, they partook in “nurturing plans for revolutionary activity”, “preparations for guerrilla warfare”, “the division of the Russian Federation into separate communes”, “committing arson”, “an intolerant attitude to representatives of law enforcement agencies “. During the trial, Filinkov pleaded not guilty, while Boyarshinov chose to enter a guilty plea.

During his closing statement, Filinkov said:

“I’ve been in jail for two and a half years now. I can’t say that this prison experience has been totally negative. Isolation has taught me to love people and freedom even more, to appreciate even more my loved ones, who have supported me all this time. So, I want to use my closing statement to thank the people who have supported me: my parents, my spouse, and all my close friends.

“I would like to underscore once more that I have never held terrorist views, neither t hen nor now. I am sorry for what I did, and I’m glad that my activities caused no actual harm to other people. I ask the court not to punish me harshly. That is all.”

Supporters of Filinkov and Boyarshinov gathered both outside and inside the court today to show solidarity. Chants of “freedom to political prisoners” and “antifascism is not terrorism” were heard in the courtroom during the verdict reading. 

More than 20 people taking part in the protest were detained. This number includes three to four people who played drums outside the court, a man who chained himself to a fence and lit a flare, and Yana Sakhipova, the wife of Boyarshinov, who was detained inside the court.

https://twitter.com/pachka_soup/status/1274988292359020544

Earlier this year, seven Russian anarchists also accused of participation in the “Network” group were sentenced for terrorist offences to a total of 86 years imprisonment. The accusations have been widely criticised as fabricated and absurd.

We encourage support and solidarity for the antifascists and anarchists who have been tortured and imprisoned by the FSB. Here is how you can help:

• Donate money to the Anarchist Black Cross in Moscow via PayPal (abc-msk@riseup.net). Make sure to specify your donation is earmarked for “Rupression.”
• Spread the word about the Network Case aka the Penza-Petersburg “terrorism” case. You can find more information about the case and in-depth articles translated into English on this website (see below), rupression.com
• Organize solidarity events where you live to raise money and awareness for the plight of the tortured Penza and Petersburg antifascists. Go to the website It’s Going Down to find printable posters and flyers you can download. You can also read more about the case there.
• If you have the time and means to design, produce, and sell solidarity merchandise, please write to rupression@protonmail.com.
• Write letters and postcards to the prisoners. Letters and postcards must be written in Russian or translated into Russian. You can find the addresses of the prisoners #support” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>here.
• Share news stories across social networks beyond Russia.
• Design a solidarity postcard that can be printed and used by others to send messages of support to the prisoners. Send your ideas to rupression@protonmail.com.
• Write letters of support to the prisoners’ loved ones via rupression@protonmail.com.
• Translate the articles and information at rupression.com and this website into languages other than Russian and English, and publish your translations on social media and your own websites and blogs.

Image: screenshot from MediaZona live feed