As has often been the case lately, something that seemed completely unbelievable has happened: the "LifeNews microphone case has not been dropped at all, but has instead been officially "completed" and will be sent to court.
So, in the near future, in the city of Novosibirsk, we will be able to watch Russia’s first high-profile trial under the unusual Criminal Code article, "Obstruction of Journalistic Activity."
Then again, how "unusual" is it really? Journalists have filed dozens, even hundreds, of complaints on this issue. Real cases of obstruction happen every day and are widely known. One need only recall the notorious episode involving Bastrykin (Alexander Bastrykin, head of Russia’s Investigative Committee) and the Novaya Gazeta journalist who was taken out to the woods. The only problem is that such cases were never opened or investigated.
So there you have it. It turns out they decided to accommodate the concerned public—now there is a case. Leonid Volkov is apparently going to be cast as an enemy of free speech and put in the dock.
(the video shows a typical case: first a journalist gets kicked in the face, and then the authorities refuse to open a case)
I have no doubt there will be a guilty verdict, which will at the very least deprive Volkov of the right to take part in elections. Clearly, that is the main purpose of the trial. But the secondary goals matter too: legitimizing operational-search activities, restricting his movements, creating obstacles for the election campaign, and so on.
I also would not rule out Volkov actually being sentenced to prison—the charge is a serious one, carrying up to six years.
Also striking is the Investigative Committee’s total sloppiness: 1) Volkov is not a member of RPR-PARNAS, as stated in the press release headline; 2) the Investigative Committee’s own forensic examination showed that the LifeNews microphone was fully functional; and so on. This clearly shows just how predetermined the verdict in this case is.
This is an important case, and the position taken by the journalistic community on it will matter a great deal.
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