At the hearing on the case of Alexander Skobov in the 1st Western District Military Court, the prosecution continued to examine written evidence, during which it was revealed that the investigation has access to all messengers on the dissident's phone.
As reported by the correspondent of Sotavision** from the courtroom, prosecutor Yulia Yankovskaya read out the search and inspection protocols of items in Alexander Skobov's apartment and in the apartment of human rights activist Yulia Rybakova, where the defendant was detained. As evidence of the accusation in the case, notebooks with the logos of the 'Forum of Free Russia'***, a 'business card in a foreign language with the symbol of Ukraine', and a 'card with the logo of Ingria' are indicated. The state prosecutor also announced a list of documents stored on Skobov's computer with anti-war statements, words of support for the people of Ukraine, statements about Putin, and about the death of Alexei Navalny*.
Then the prosecutor announced the results of the inspection of Skobov's phone, where reposts of publications from the 'Forum of Free Russia' to his Telegram channel were found, as well as images that 'indicate support for the Ukrainian military forces'.
In addition, a group chat of the 'Forum of Free Russia' was found in Skobov's phone in the Signal messenger, which included opposition figures Garry Kasparov*, Ivan Tyutrin*, Evgenia Chirikova*, Dmitry Gudkov*, and Skobov himself. According to the prosecutor, donations in support of volunteer formations fighting on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as fundraising for the same purpose at an auction, were discussed in this chat.
Lawyer Dinar Idrisov believes that the materials read by the prosecutor indicate that the investigation has full access to the list of accounts of subscribers to Skobov's Telegram channel and chats in Signal. The evidence presented by the prosecutor also suggests that the security forces have de-anonymized the participants of all private chats in which Alexander Skobov was involved. The lawyer warned of the threat of political repression against all subscribers of Alexander Skobov's channel located in Russia, as well as those who were in activist chats with him.
Skobov himself was present at the hearing via video link from the Syktyvkar court but did not participate in the discussions. The human rights activist previously stated that he does not intend to interact with the court or answer the judge's questions.
The 66-year-old Skobov was detained on April 2 on charges of 'justifying terrorism' for posts on social media. On April 4, a court in St. Petersburg sent him to a pre-trial detention center. According to the investigation, from September 2023 to February 2024, Skobov published several posts on his Telegram channel justifying the explosion of the Crimean Bridge and calling for terrorist acts on the territory of Russia. In court, Skobov declared: 'Glory to Ukraine, death to the murderer Putin'.
The initiation of a case on 'participation in the activities of a terrorist organization' due to connections with the 'Forum of Free Russia' became known in May.
* Recognized in Russia as 'foreign agents', included in the list of 'terrorists and extremists'.
** Recognized in Russia as a 'foreign agent' and 'undesirable' organization.
*** Recognized in Russia as an 'undesirable' organization.
Photo: Bumaga