Advocates comment on new accusation of activist Melikhova for discrediting Russian Army

The poem by Marina Melikhova, a Kuban activist, which had drawn law enforcers' attention, has nothing discrediting the Russian Army, said Maria Spasibukhova, an advocate. In her opinion, a conviction under the discrediting article will not affect the new administrative article. To be charged with discrediting, it should be proved that the poem was distributed by Melikhova herself or with her consent, Irina Zheltukhina, another advocate, has noted.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that law enforcers had treated the video with Melikhova's poem, posted on the YouTube, as discrediting the Russian Army. Melikhova asserts that she could not post the video, since at that time she was serving her sentence at the SIZO (pre-trial prison).

Maria Spasibukhova, an advocate, believes that any creativity and ways of expressing it are each person's personal matters, even if the work was not distributed by the author, who had given no consent to it. “There is not a word in Marina Melikhova’s poems about discrediting the Russian Army. And in this case, it is not her fault that her personal poems ended up on the Internet,” Ms Spasibukhova has added.

According to Irina Zheltukhina, another advocate, any work of art that “can be interpreted as criticism of the leadership of the Russian Federation,” “in modern realities, is, in the opinion of law enforcement bodies, a direct or indirect discredit to the Russian Army.” However, she noted, a prerequisite in this case is the public dissemination of the work by the author. “The author gave no consent to the distribution of her work. It should also be noted that the author of the poem was at the SIZO and had no access to the Internet,” Ms Zheltukhina has commented on Melikhova's situation.