A Stavropol resident has been accused of justifying terrorism

A military court in Rostov-on-Don will hear the case of a 50-year-old Stavropol resident accused of publicly acquitting herself of a crime based on a comment she made on a messenger app. 

One online comment led to a criminal case being brought against the woman for publicly justifying terrorism (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Russian Criminal Code carries a sentence of up to seven years in prison). 

According to investigators, a Stavropol resident left a comment on a publicly accessible page of a messaging app in 2023. Law enforcement officials concluded that the content of her comment "justified violent, terrorist acts." 

During interrogation, the woman admitted her guilt and expressed remorse. The case has been sent to court for a hearing on the merits, the Investigative Committee for the Stavropol Territory announced today. The agency did not specify the measure of restraint chosen for her.

The regional prosecutor's office, for its part, clarified that the Stavropol woman's case will be heard by the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don. This agency notes that the woman wrote the comment that prompted the prosecution in December 2023 and referred to a terrorist organization whose activities are banned in Russia. 

The accused "posted a message in a public group on a messenger app that contained a positive assessment of the group's illegal actions," according to a statement from the official Telegram channel of the Stavropol Prosecutor's Office. 

The specific organization in question and the specific actions the woman justified with her comment were not specified. Caucasian Knot has not yet received any comments from the accused or her lawyer regarding the security forces' version of events.

The " Caucasian Knot " also reported that investigators in Kabardino-Balkaria suspect a 19-year-old resident of justifying terrorism after she posted a video accompanied by text on social media. The woman has been placed under house arrest. 

Journalist Nadezhda Kevorkova previously faced similar charges  . She was accused of justifying terrorism for two publications on her Telegram channel: a repost of journalist  Orkhan Dzhemal  's 2010 text about  the attack on Nalchik  and a publication about the Taliban movement, which was included on the list of terrorist organizations. The prosecutor demanded a six-year prison sentence and a fine for Kevorkova, but the court only imposed a 600,000 ruble fine.

On March 13, Kevorkova's son organized a fundraiser to pay the fine, and the required  amount was raised the following day . On April 17, the Russian Supreme Court suspended the ban on the Taliban movement.