The Sovetsky District Court of Bryansk sentenced blogger Evgenia Hoffman, who burned her Russian passport, to two years and three months of restricted freedom. This was reported by the joint press service of the city courts.
Hoffman was found guilty of desecration of the Russian coat of arms (Article 329 of the Criminal Code) and intentional infliction of moderate harm to health, committed out of hooligan motives (clause “d” of part 2 of the article 112 of the Criminal Code). She was prohibited from leaving her place of residence at night, traveling outside the Dyatkovo district of the Bryansk region, and changing her place of residence without notifying the authorities.
The criminal case against the blogger became known on January 2. Then the Investigative Committee reported on Hoffman’s arrest in Bryansk, emphasizing that operational support in the case was being carried out by police officers and the FSB. The next day, the girl was sent under house arrest.
According to investigators, the blogger, while at the Bryansk nightclub “Ninety-First” on New Year’s Eve, burned her passport, thereby committing “an outrage against the State Emblem of the Russian Federation” . As the Investigative Committee noted then, such actions “are a gross insult and mockery of the civil and patriotic feelings of citizens.”
In addition, Hoffman was accused of hitting a local resident in the face with her head during an argument at the Bryansk Hotel bar on November 12, 2023. Mash wrote that the blogger broke the woman's nose during the conflict. The court ordered Hoffman to pay 150,000 rubles to the victim.
After the criminal case was opened, the blogger insisted that she burned her passport because it was no longer valid and had an «ugly photo» in it. At the same time, the recording of the document being burned began to be distributed after the New Year by pro-war Telegram channels and Russian war correspondents — they claimed that the girl's actions were connected with «support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine».
On January 7, the «Ninety First» club announced the suspension of operations in order to «resolve all issues regarding inspections.» The club's message said that for «reasons beyond our control, they are temporarily on vacation,» and the post ended with a request: «And please don't burn your passports, at least not in front of our entrance.» Now, judging by the posts on social networks, the club is working again.