At a press conference following the Russia-Africa summit, President Vladimir Putin answered a question about the arrests of sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky and director Yevgenia Berkovich, who are accused of justifying terrorism, citing «an armed conflict with a neighbor.» The live broadcast was conducted by the Solovyov Live channel.
During a press conference, Kommersant correspondent Andrei Kolesnikov mentioned Boris Kagarlitsky and Yevgenia Berkovich, who were arrested «for spoken or written words.» “Is this normal? We, thank God, are not the 37th year? Or, as many people think, maybe already the 37th?”
“We have 2023, and the Russian Federation is in a state of armed conflict with its neighbor. I think that there should be a certain attitude towards those people who harm us inside the country, ”Putin said.
The President at the same time claims that «for the first time» he hears these names.
“In Ukraine, they are shot for this — well, not for this, but for similar ones … You know, yes, that they simply killed several people there, as soon as they opened their mouths. Even a member of the negotiating group from Ukraine, I don’t know why, on suspicion that he said something wrong, he was immediately liquidated. This does not mean that we should do so. But we must keep in mind that in order for us to achieve success, including in the war zone, we need to follow certain rules for everyone,” Putin continued, asking Kolesnikov to tell him more about these arrests later.
Sociologist and editor-in-chief of the left-wing online magazine Rabkor Boris Kagarlitsky was detained in Moscow and transferred to Syktyvkar at the end of July. He is charged with posts about the explosion on the Crimean bridge, which the investigation qualifies as justifying terrorism (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code).
Theatrical director Evgenia Berkovich and screenwriter Svetlana Petriychuk have been in jail since May 5. They are accused of justifying terrorism (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code) because of the play Finist the Clear Falcon, which tells about Russian women who married Islamists and went to see them in Syria.