Russian activist Vladislav Arinichev has not been in contact for five days after being detained during a single picket in Croatia. Dozhd writes about this with reference to Memorial.
Arinichev was detained on the morning of July 4 — the activist was holding a single picket on St. Mark's Square in Zagreb. His action was dedicated to the illegal deportation of Russians from Croatia.
The reason for the arrest was Arinichev’s T-shirt — it had the inscription Fuck SOA on it. As Dozhd explains, SOA is an abbreviation for the Croatian secret service, which is responsible for expelling foreigners from the country. The activist himself managed to tell his friends that they were planning to fine him for making rude remarks about the security forces. After that he stopped communicating.
A friend of Arinichev, in a conversation with Dozhd, said that the activist may be in prison. According to the channel’s interlocutor, one of the local human rights organizations reported this earlier, but it has not yet been possible to verify this information.
In Russia, a criminal case has been opened against Arinichev — he is accused of justifying terrorism on the Internet (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code). In November 2023, the activist was arrested in absentia by a court in Moscow. The telegram channel “Caution, News” suggested that the reason for criminal prosecution was an anti-war message he recorded back in Russia.
In the spring of 2022, Arinichev was fined 35 thousand rubles under a protocol on calls for the introduction of restrictive measures in relation to the Russian Federation (Article 20.3.4 of the Administrative Code). This was the first known case of application of Article 20.3.4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. The reason for the protocol was a video on YouTube in which the activist spoke about sanctions.
In addition, Arinichev was also prosecuted under the article on “discrediting” the army (20.3.3 of the Administrative Code) due to participation in an anti-war rally in Moscow. Soon after this, the activist left Russia; since the end of 2022 he has been living in Croatia.