The Supreme Court of Kalmykia upheld a fine for Ukrainian citizen Miroslav Genik under the protocol of 'discrediting' the Russian army. 'Mediazona'* found a complaint against the decision of the first instance, which stated that all witnesses admitted they falsely accused Genik.
The Maloderbetovsky District Court fined Genik 15,000 rubles on October 18, the minimum fine under this administrative article is 30,000 rubles. A mitigating circumstance was that he has five minor children.
As stated in the court materials, on June 22, Genik in his own yard in the presence of six people said: 'I am for Ukraine'; 'I am for Zelensky and will always be for him'; 'Putin started the war'; 'Putin attacked us - Ukraine'. One of those present called the police, and the second wrote a statement against the man to the police department. At the meeting, Genik said they falsely accused him 'due to hostile relations that arose between them on a domestic basis'.
Two witnesses gave written explanations that Genik did not commit the offense, and they accused the man because they were drunk and signed the documents without reading them. According to another witness, she was forced to falsely accuse Genik because police officers threatened her with deprivation of parental rights.
Three witnesses in the court session stated that there was no offense on Genik's part, yet he was still found guilty of 'discrediting' the army. The court decided that the man's claim of innocence was 'due to his desire to avoid administrative responsibility', and treated the witnesses' testimonies 'critically' as an 'attempt to distort <...> the circumstances of the incident'. The words of three people about alcohol intoxication and threats of deprivation of parental rights were called 'unsubstantiated and unsupported by anything' by the court.
The Supreme Court of Kalmykia upheld the decision. 'The circumstances established in the case are confirmed by the materials presented in the case and the testimonies of five eyewitnesses and other evidence examined during the consideration of the case', the final decision states.
* Recognized in Russia as a 'foreign agent'.