A blogger in the Russian republic of Komi has been charged for allegedly encouraging violence against the police.According to the Moscow Times, “Prosecutors in a town in the Komi republic have charged an Internet blogger, Savva Terentyev, with inciting hatred in the mass media after he posted a message saying local police should be ‘periodically set on fire’ in the town’s main square.”

IFEX (with CJES) has additional information.

The Syktyvkar prosecutor’s office (Komi Republic) has filed criminal charges against Internet blogger Savva Terentyev for allegedly violating Article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The article refers to “fanning hatred or a feud” and “belittling a person’s dignity”.

IFEX further reports, “The blogger faces a fine in the amount of 200,000 rubles (approx. US$7,760) or up to five years in a penal colony if convicted of the charges.” (They still have penal colonies? Good grief.)

The CPB is not in the habit of calling for the defense of people who encourage violence. There are, however, a few red flags. First is the uncertain translation. If any Russian-speaking readers can locate the original, please let us know. That’s highly doubtful, as the first thing that usually happens when a government finds a blog or blog post officially offensive is that it gets deleted. [Could this be it? http://terentyev.livejournal.com/]

The second flag is the way he’s being charged. The words “hatred” and “dignity” in a blogger’s prosecution usually signal less an issue of law than one of politics. The blogger’s already guilty, so some charges need to be found.