Press Release, 7.10.2022

Photo: Ilya Kostyukov / Photo from the personal archive

On 5 October, the Oktyabrsky District Court of Belgorod held a hearing in the case on the administrative offence of Ilya Kostyukov, a member of the Yabloko party. The civil activist was accused of calling for participation in a rally without permission of the authorities. Kostyukov denies his guilt.

A protocol was drawn up against Kostyukov for posting calls for an unpermitted rally against mobilization on a Telegram channel of some anti-war committee. There is no evidence that it was Ilya Kostyukov who did it. There is also no data that would confirm that the activist was the owner of this Telegram channel.

Explaining in court the reason for the lack of evidence of Kostyukov’s guilt, an employee of the Department of Combatting Extremism of the Interior Ministry stated that it was impossible to establish the authorship of the post in the Telegram channel, since the resource was registered abroad.

The court postponed the consideration of the case, waiting for any evidence of the guilt of Ilya Kostyukov from the police. Yevgeny Sokolov, the defender of the civil activist and a Yabloko supporter, believes that the could should dismiss the case.

Earlier, the Oktyabrsky Court of Belgorod acquitted Ilya Kostyukov, accused by the police of participation in “an unpermitted mass public action” for his single picket against the liquidation of trolleybuses in the city.

Ilya Kostyukov also reported that he was under pressure at his educational institution.

Read more about the persecution of Yabloko members after the start of the “special operation”.