As the Dmitriev trial got under way this summer, journalist Maria Eismont concluded an article about the case (“Dmitriev should be a State-Prize nominee“, 6 June 2017) with the following words:
“There is another important thing about the Dmitriev case: the charge his persecutors chose for him. He was not charged with ‘extremism’ or ‘separatism’, which have been commonplace in politically-motivated cases, but with child pornography and depraved actions towards a minor. Continue reading
Between 1 June 2017 and 5 April 2018, YURY DMITRIEV was on trial in Petrozavodsk charged under Article 242.2 of the Russian Federation Criminal Code (“Use of a minor for the purposes of preparing pornography”) and Article 135 (“Perverted acts without the use of force against a minor”). For further details of these laws and the penalties they carry, see below.
The charges relate to photographs Dmitriev took of his foster daughter Natasha, in a naked state, between the ages of three and seven. He denied the charges. See Accusations of Child Sexual Abuse in Russia. (Later, Dmitriev was additionally charged, under Article 226 with “Stealing or Possession of Arms, Ammunition” etc.)
After his renewed arrest in June 2018, DMITRIEV was charged additionally under Article 135, Part 4, see below. This is also the charge recently brought against 66-year-old Sergei KOLTYRIN, director of the Medvezhyegorsk district museum.
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The Dmitriev Affair 