The state news agency TASS released a note about the arrest of Mikhail Darius, a native of the Moscow region, where he distorted the court decision and included Darius’ alleged participation in the Ukrainian Azov battalion. The difference between the TASS note and the actual text of the decision of the Chairman of the Basmanny District Court of Moscow Andrei Fedin was discovered by Mediazona.
The decision to arrest Darius on charges of publicly justifying terrorism on the Internet (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code) and participation in a terrorist organization (Part 2 of Article 205.5 of the Criminal Code) was made on September 11. But the text of the resolution appeared in the case file on the website later. The essence of the accusation in the document is retold as follows: “The investigative authorities believe that in the period from 05/19/2022 to 09/09/2023 in Moscow D., being a member of the terrorist organization "***" (***) and the terrorist organization Ukrainian paramilitary association ***, with the aim of committing…” That is, in the published document the names of two organizations are replaced with asterisks.
The TASS agency, three weeks after the arrest, in its note quotes this resolution with distortions: “Investigative authorities believe that in the period from May 19, 2022 to September 9, 2023 in Moscow, Darius, being a member of the terrorist organization Ukrainian paramilitary association “Azov”… » That is, in the TASS news, two different organizations from the court decision were replaced by one, and “Azov” was called a “Ukrainian paramilitary association.”
Such a name for “Azov” in the court decision would contradict the official list of the FSB, where the battalion is called «Ukrainian paramilitary nationalist association «Azov»». In the same list there is only one organization, which, as in the court decision, is simply called “Ukrainian paramilitary association.” This is the “Freedom of Russia” legion.
In a letter to Mediazona, Mikhail Darius confirmed that he was arrested precisely for his alleged participation in the legion, as well as “in the groups” NS/WP — this is the second organization from the court ruling, which TASS does not mention at all in its note.
< p>Dariy in the letter repeated what, according to the resolution, was said in the courtroom: he was subscribed to the groups of the mentioned organizations, but “participation and viewing news in one or another group cannot be a reason [to consider a person] a participant in the actions of the group” . According to Darius, the investigator told him that the people with whom he corresponded “have a high military status.” Judge Fedin arrested Darius until November 9, 2023.
That is, in the text of the court decision it was about the Russian neo-Nazi group NS/WP and the Freedom of Russia legion, and in the TASS note they turned into the Ukrainian Azov battalion » At the same time, the agency also claims that Darius allegedly said in court that “he is not a member of any terrorist organizations, including Azov.”