The Court of Appeal has overturned the appeal judgement to reduce activist Andrei Borovikov’s term and remanded the case for a new trial. Borovikov had been sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for having reposted the “Pussy” music video by Rammstein on vk.com. The social activist’s lawyer Alexei Kychin reported this to 7x7.
The Third Court of Appeal of St. Petersburg has overturned the Arkhangelsk Regional Court’s decision to commute activist Andrei Borovikov’s sentence from 2.5 years in a general regime colony to two years and three months for distributing pornography. The case has been remanded for a new trial. Borovikov's lawyer Alexei Kychin hopes that his client will be acquitted or his term of deprivation will be reduced.
In 2021, the Lomonosovsky District Court of Arkhangelsk sentenced Borovikov to 2.5 years in a general regime penal colony for distributing pornography because he posted “Pussy” music video by German band Rammstein on vk.com in 2014 (Part 3 of Article 242 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Borovikov pleaded not guilty and assumed that the case against him was politically motivated. Later, the sentence was commuted to two years and three months of imprisonment in connection with childbirth.
Andrei Borovikov participated in several unsanctioned rallies against retirement-age increase and the construction of a landfill at Shies, the courts regularly arresting and fining him for that. In 2019, the Oktyabrsky District Court imposed 400 hours of community service to the activist under “Dadin’s article” (212.2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Borovikov also used to head Alexei Navalny’s headquarters* in Arkhangelsk.
In March 2020, investigators opened a criminal case against Andrei Borovikov for having reposted the “Pussy” music video by German band Rammstein on vk.com. Alexander Durynin, a former employee of Navalny's Arkhangelsk headquarters, reported the activist. According to him, he appealed to law enforcement agencies because a public person could not post pornographic videos on their page. In April 2021, the court sentenced Borovikov to 2.5 years in a general regime penal colony. The activist pleaded not guilty and noticed that hundreds of people had reposted the music video, but a criminal case had been opened only against him.
The Ecological Crisis Activists Support Group (ECG) has recognized Andrei Borovikov as an eco-prisoner.
