The Amnesty International Global Human Rights Organization recognized the criminal prosecution of Andrei Borovikov, an activist and the head of Alexei Navalny’s headquarters in Arkhangelsk, as politically motivated. He told 7x7 about this himself.
Representatives of Amnesty International believe that the main purpose of the prosecution of Andrei Borovikov is to punish and discredit the activist for criticizing the authorities. In their opinion, Article 212.1 (Repeated Violations at Rallies), under which the man was convicted, contradicts the norms of international law.
"Borovikov was actually punished for exercising his legal rights peacefully. We believe that the real reason for his criminal prosecution was the desire to take revenge on him for his activities and teach a lesson to other activists," Natalya Zvyagina, the director of the Amnesty International's representative office in Russia, stated in her appeal.
According to Zvyagina, Andrei Borovikov acts in accordance with the Russian Constitution and international law, which guarantee freedom of peaceful assembly and expression.
In 2019, the Oktyabrsky District Court of Arkhangelsk found Andrei Borovikov guilty under Article 212.1 of the Criminal Code (Repeated Violations at Rallies) and imposed 400 hours of community service. The activist is the third person in Russia to be convicted under “Dadin’s article” (named after Ildar Dadin, the first activist convicted under it). Andrei Borovikov repeatedly participated in unsanctioned rallies and pickets against the construction of a landfill at Shies and retirement-age increase. In July 2019, he became the head of Alexei Navalny's headquarters in Arkhangelsk.
In early September 2020, Andrei Borovikov was fined for 4 thousand rubles under Article 6.13 of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation (Drug Propaganda) for publishing “Legalize” music video by Detsl on vk.com. At the end of the month, Borovikov's apartment was house-checked, and he was questioned on the case of distribution of pornography on vk.com.
