In Russia, a verdict has been handed down for the first time in the case involving the so-called International Satanist Movement
In Voronezh, the first court ruling was handed down in a criminal case involving the symbols of the “International Satanist Movement,” which does not actually exist.
The Sovietsky District Court of Voronezh sentenced a 24-year-old local resident to one year of correctional labor in a case involving the display of banned symbols of the “International Satanist Movement,” reports Mediazona.
The basis for the case was a photograph of Adolf Hitler and a selfie of the defendant wearing a hat and a hood with a pentagram, published on VKontakte. The investigation interpreted the selfie as a display of symbols of the non-existent “International Satanist Movement.”
According to the court ruling, the defendant is an orphan who worked as an electric and gas welder at a reinforced concrete structures plant. His acquaintances and neighbors referred to him in court as a “skinhead” and an “open Satanist.” The criminal case was based on a report by an employee of the regional “Center E” of the Ministry of Internal Affairs specifically regarding “satanic” symbols.
The Voronezh man’s case is the first known conviction in a criminal case involving banned symbols where Satanism is mentioned, the project notes.
As a reminder, a Moscow court issued an arrest warrant in absentia for Semyon Slepakov.
The court also froze 206 million hryvnias in Dniprospetsstal’s accounts on suspicion of fraud.
Meanwhile, Russia has begun a covert forced mobilization due to a shortage of recruits.
