The Tverskoy District Court of Moscow sentenced actionist Pavel Krisevich to five years in a general regime colony because of the shooting action near the Kremlin. A Mediazona correspondent reported this from the courtroom.
Today, September 27, a representative of the prosecutor’s office also asked him for five years in prison — that’s what Krisevich was sentenced to last fall, but then this decision was canceled and the case was sent for further investigation .
Krisevich was charged with hooliganism with the use of a weapon (Article 213 of the Criminal Code). The action, during which he fired noise cartridges twice into the air on Red Square and then pointed the muzzle of the empty pistol at himself, took place in June 2021.
Krisevich, who was 20 years old at the time, explained his performance as a protest against political repression in Russia. Before the shot, he read out a manifesto ending with the words: “We will respond to force and repression with fearlessness. After all, there will be no more fear. Shots will follow in front of the Kremlin curtain.”
During his last word, Krisevich said that the pistol he used for the action cannot be considered a weapon: “Please take into account that the R-411 signal device is not a weapon, is on free sale from the age of 18 and in the practice of Moscow courts for hooliganism is not classified as a weapon. It’s like a shot at a running competition does not become a reason to initiate a criminal case — it’s a signal to start.”
The actionist asked either to acquit him or to reclassify the charges to articles of the Administrative Code on petty hooliganism (20.1 Code of Administrative Offenses) or shooting in populated areas (20.13 Code of Administrative Offences).
“I do not recognize the charge under the existing qualifications. And of course, I would like to say that real hooligans have the goal of gaining pleasure from their actions and bringing suffering to others. They do not sympathize and do not see responsibility for themselves. I want to show that I am not a hooligan and it’s a pity that they so often try to see hooliganism behind a civil position,” added Krisevich.