RSF calls for release of blogger who criticized Russian policy in Syria

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges Russia's supreme court to release Siberian blogger Alexei Kungurov tomorrow when it begins hearing his appeal against the 30-month jail sentence he received last December for criticizing Russia's military intervention in Syria.

A military court in Tyumen, Western Siberia, imposed the sentence on Kungurov in a trial held behind close doors on 20 December, after finding him guilty of "justifying terrorism" in a blog post entitled, "Who are Putin's hawks really bombing?"

Posted on the LiveJournal blog platform in October 2015, the article doubted that the Russian air force would solely bomb Islamic State military targets or that Russia would immediately be invaded by hordes of Jihadis in the event of an IS victory.

The authorities nonetheless did not open an investigation into Kungurov until March 2016, shortly after another blog post in which he criticized Russia's action in Ukraine, in a shift from his previous position of support for Ukraine's pro-Russian separatists.

Only one phrase in the October 2015 post was cited in support of the "justifying terrorism" charge, namely that Islamic State was "neither the most bloodthirsty nor most insane." This was tantamount to saying that IS "poses no threat," according to the philologist used as an expert witness by the prosecution.

The expert witness subsequently acknowledged that he had "mistakenly" ignored the use of the superlative "most," but insisted that this error did not affect her conclusions.

"It is deeply shocking that such a heavy sentence was issued for a political post that simply expressed criticism of Russian foreign policy," said Johann Bihr, the head of RSF's Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk. "We urge the supreme court to free Alexei Kungurov and to ask an independent and neutral professional to provide a new expert analysis of the post."

The blogger's lawyer, Alexander Zyrianov, points out that the prosecution also failed to demonstrate that it was Kungurov who posted the article online, and that it was posted from his hometown, Tyumen, while he was out of town.

Kungurov is regarded as a political prisoner by the Russian human rights group Memorial, which says: "Kungurov is not an ideological ally of (...) Islamic State or any other terrorist organization operating in Syria and (...) his persecution is solely prompted by the criticisms he has expressed of Russian foreign policy."

The authorities nonetheless did not open an investigation into Kungurov until March 2016, shortly after another blog post in which he criticized Russia's action in Ukraine, in a shift from his previous position of support for Ukraine's pro-Russian separatists.

Only one phrase in the October 2015 post was cited in support of the "justifying terrorism" charge, namely that Islamic State was "neither the most bloodthirsty nor most insane." This was tantamount to saying that IS "poses no threat," according to the philologist used as an expert witness by the prosecution.

The expert witness subsequently acknowledged that he had "mistakenly" ignored the use of the superlative "most," but insisted that this error did not affect her conclusions.

"It is deeply shocking that such a heavy sentence was issued for a political post that simply expressed criticism of Russian foreign policy," said Johann Bihr, the head of RSF's Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk. "We urge the supreme court to free Alexei Kungurov and to ask an independent and neutral professional to provide a new expert analysis of the post."

The blogger's lawyer, Alexander Zyrianov, points out that the prosecution also failed to demonstrate that it was Kungurov who posted the article online, and that it was posted from his hometown, Tyumen, while he was out of town.

Kungurov is regarded as a political prisoner by the Russian human rights group Memorial, which says: "Kungurov is not an ideological ally of (...) Islamic State or any other terrorist organization operating in Syria and (...) his persecution is solely prompted by the criticisms he has expressed of Russian foreign policy."

Persecution of Internet users has increased significantly in the past two years in Russia. Jail sentences are often imposed for comments, photos or videos posted on social networks, or even just reposts. According to the human rights group Agora, at least 29 people were sentenced to imprisonment in 2016 in connection with their online activity.

Russia is ranked 148th out of 180 countries in RSF's 2016 World Press Freedom Index