Analysts argue about motives for Mikhail Serenko's arrest

Mikhail Serenko, arrested in Volgograd on charges of rehabilitating Nazism, was never an oppositionist and never criticized the government, journalist Vyacheslav Lemkus pointed out. Repressive laws allow for the criminal prosecution of any person, political scientist Alexander Saygin countered.

As "Caucasian Knot" wrote, political scientist and former Volgograd City Duma deputy Mikhail Serenko was arrested on July 22 in a case of public justification of Nazism and extortion. On July 24, the court arrested him until September 18, the selection of a preventive measure was held behind closed doors.

Mikhail Serenko's family is currently looking for a lawyer, since they are not satisfied with the lawyer appointed by the court, a source told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. At a hearing in the Central District Court of Volgograd, Mikhail Serenko asked to assign him house arrest as a preventive measure, but the court refused, the united press service of the courts of the Volgograd Region reported on its Telegram channel.

Journalist Vyacheslav Lemkus told a correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot" that he never considered Mikhail Serenko his colleague, although he was called a journalist, since he was the founder of the city publication "Island of Freedom".

"He was an official, and not the most outstanding one, he was also no deputy. In general, Mikhail was quite safe for the authorities, but useless for society, until he took up blogging and journalism. It's not his business. He knows nothing about journalistic ethics, about presenting complex material, about the need to present alternative opinions in conflict situations and working with experts," Lemkus said.

The journalist recalled that Mikhail Serenko was not an opposition blogger or political scientist: "he always kept himself within the framework of administrative optimism." According to Vyacheslav Lemkus, he has not come across any publications by Mikhail Serenko criticizing the government. Nevertheless, he believes that the search in the case of the Wagner PMC mutiny, conducted two years ago, should have been considered a warning by Serenko himself.

"It is clear that that search was a warning. Mikhail, it seems, did not understand this or was confident in his immunity, or hoped for the laws. But if you run into an important person, sooner or later they will come for you," Lemkus believes.

Volgograd political scientist Alexander Saygin expressed support for Mikhail Serenko. "He (Mikhail Serenko) is an ambiguous person and has a sharp tongue in life, but I have no complaints about him. We communicated well and he always responded to my personal requests. I do not hide my good attitude towards him. At the same time, I understand that he stepped on many calluses. Sometimes not in the most ethical way. Sometimes very unfairly. But he is not a gold chervonets to please everyone. And I don’t remember anyone trying to openly, face to face, make claims against him,” Saigin wrote in his Telegram channel.

Alexander Saigin reminded Serenko’s critics that such criminal prosecution can affect anyone. “Those who joyfully began to appoint his “accomplices” and “accomplices” for some reason firmly believe that tomorrow they will not come for them. Guys, the fact that you did not follow Serenko is not your merit and is not an indicator of whether you have a white coat, but they simply have not taken you in yet. And with the new laws adopted, believe me, your chances of being put in jail have greatly increased. And, yes, let me remind you that so far Serenko is only a suspect, and not convicted under the two articles with which he is charged," the political scientist said.

The lawyer doubted the validity of the accusation of rehabilitation of Nazism

The Investigative Committee does not report on the nuances of the criminal case against the political scientist, the press service of the department refers to the secrecy of the investigation. The Criminal Code of the Russian Federation punishes for the denial of facts established by the verdict of the International Military Tribunal, and by "the verdict of the International Military Tribunal" is meant one of the verdicts of the Nuremberg Tribunal, namely the one that was handed down on October 1, 1946, explained the expert in the field of international law Roman Melnichenko.

"This sentence condemns specific people (19 convicted) and establishes three groups of facts," Melnichenko told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. The first fact is that some leaders of the Third Reich committed a crime against peace, that is, they planned and unleashed military action, the second is that some leaders of the Third Reich committed crimes against humanity, that is, they committed genocide, and the third is that some leaders of the Third Reich committed war crimes, that is, they violated the rules of war. "It is highly unlikely that Mikhail Serenko denied any of these facts," Roman Melnichenko believes.

The sentence of the International Military Tribunal does not imply that other participants in the events, for example, the leadership of France or Soviet Russia, did not commit crimes against peace, humanity or war crimes during this period. "The trend of whitewashing the leadership of the USSR and the armed forces of the anti-Hitler coalition with the help of the verdict of the International Military Tribunal causes internationalists to shrug their shoulders in bewilderment. After all, the fact that some leaders of the Third Reich unleashed the war does not change the fact that leaders of other states also took part in unleashing it. The fact that war crimes were committed does not change the fact that they could have been committed by soldiers of the armies of the anti-Hitler coalition," Melnichenko said.

Roman Melnichenko is familiar from his own experience with linguistic experts who testify in court on the side of the prosecution. "These experts are constantly expanding their expertise, having apparently become specialists in the field of international law, namely the law of war (Jus belum) and international criminal law. And they will, of course, find and justify everything in everything. The case of Mikhail Serenko looks like an attempt to grant a perpetual indulgence to the God-chosen people and their leaders,” said Roman Melnichenko.

Mikhail Serenko’s brother, the well-known Volgograd political scientist Andrey Serenko, declined to comment on the arrest of his relative, and other members of his family refused to talk to journalists.

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