On January 18, the Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow arrested Usman Baratov, the president of the inter-regional Uzbek community “Vatandosh”, Kommersant reports. The arrest occurred following his detention in a case of extremism, initiated after publications on social networks about members of the Special Military Operation (SMO).
The Investigative Committee of Russia (ICR) filed a petition for Usman Baratov’s arrest. According to the Moscow Department of the ICR, Baratov did not admit guilt during interrogation. Several forensic examinations, including linguistic and computer-technical, have been appointed in the criminal case.
Controversial social media post
Several military correspondents and Telegram channels drew attention to Baratov’s post on the Odnoklassniki social network dated December 16, in which he commented on the situation with egg prices in Russia. The post, accompanied by a satirical picture of chickens and a caption about roosters, was considered by the military correspondents as an insult to SMO participants. If convicted, Baratov faces up to six years in prison.
Baratov’s response
In a conversation with RBC News Agency, Baratov expressed regret that his assistant had not removed a satirical photo of chickens from his page within a month, which he claims has nothing to do with the alleged insults of the participants of the SMO.
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