Astrakhan, who compared a migrant with a monkey, canceled the sentence for an Internet comment

The Astrakhan Regional Court overturned the verdict with a real term of imprisonment against the blogger and political strategist Alexander Tukaev, who compared migrants harassing children with monkeys. In an online publication with such an assessment, the investigators saw the incitement of interethnic hatred. Tukaev himself considers his criminal prosecution to be a political order from the regional authorities.

By its decision, the regional court upheld the blogger’s appeal. At the same time, the criminal case was not terminated, it was transferred to the prosecutor’s office for further proceedings, writes “Idel.Realii”. During this time, the political consultant will remain under recognizance not to leave.

Earlier, the Sovetsky District Court of Astrakhan sentenced Alexander Tukayev to six months in a penal colony for commenting on a video repost on Facebook. In the summer of 2020, the blogger took part in the distribution of a video entitled “A migrant tried to molest a young girl. The Italians didn’t like it. ” In the frame, a group of people, interceding for the child, beat the alleged pedophile. True, later it turned out that the hero of the video was not a migrant at all, but the shooting was carried out in Spain.

Tukayev accompanied the video with his own commentary, in which he equated the “migrant” who harassed the girl to the “primacy”. He also approved of the actions of the people who beat the man. Investigators interpreted this comment as inciting ethnic hatred.

Alexander Tukaev himself claimed that he insulted the man captured on the video only because he considered him a pedophile, and the migration status of this person did not matter to him. The blogger believes that he is being persecuted by the authorities. Last year, he received ten days of administrative arrest for xenophobic comments against the ex-head of the city administration, Radik Kharisov. The blogger on his Facebook page in 2019 spoke negatively about the official’s nationality, which, according to the investigation, humiliated his human dignity (Article 20.3.1. Of the Administrative Code of the Russian Federation). Then Tukayev also spoke about the fabricated accusation and denied his guilt, explaining that the post was made by another person from a fake account, deliberately disguised as his page.

In his last word before sentencing him, Tukaev said that he “wrote about pedophiles a hundred times,” insulting them and urging them to kill. “And never, no investigators were initiated into this case. But as soon as the regional authorities changed in the region, when suddenly this criminal case arose – I criticized the actions of the authorities, ”he stressed.

According to Tukayev, the hero of the video named Jose was eventually sentenced to 12 years in prison, but not only for pedophilia, but also for membership in the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group. “That is, the prosecutor’s office and the investigation are now protecting not only pedophiles, although this is already a head loss. And also supporters of IS. I didn’t care who was on the video – a migrant, an occupier or just a resident of Spain, I reacted, and this was confirmed not only by examinations, but also by numerous witnesses, to the action itself, ”Tukaev said. His words led news agency “Point-A”.