Author of graffiti about Putin in Rostov-on-Don seeks to cancel the verdict

The defence intends to appeal against the verdict to a Rostov citizen, whom the court sentenced to restriction of freedom and compulsory psychiatric treatment because of the graffiti about President Vladimir Putin he made in Rostov-on-Don.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the court found Mikhail Selitsky guilty of vandalism motivated by political hostility. The defence filed an appeal, and the court reduced the term of Selitsky's restriction of freedom by a month, but upheld the compulsory psychiatric treatment.

According to Rustam Mukhamadeev, an advocate, the conditions for freedom restricting assume the need to regularly get registered at the penitentiary inspection. The convict may be obliged to wear an electronic bracelet, since he cannot leave home at certain hours and attend public events.

In the Soviet years, the compulsory treatment for such petty offenses was more often prescribed to people registered with psychiatry, Vyacheslav Bakhmin, the chairman of the board of the Sakharov Centre*, who had investigated abuses in the field of psychiatry in the USSR, has recalled.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 9, 2022 at 02:40 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.