"Sova" Centre sees no extremism in Zherebtsova's letter

The decision to put the letter by Polina Zherebtsova to Mikhail Khodorkovsky on the list of extremist materials is illegal, said the experts of the "Sova" Information-Analytical Centre.

On July 6, the letter of Polina Zherebtsova, the author's of the children's diary about her life in the military Grozny to Khodorkovsky, in which she expressed her disagreement with statements of the ex-head of the "Yukos" Company about Chechnya, was put by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) on the list of extremist materials.

In her letter Polina said that she was disappointed with the interview that the former head of "Yukos", who is currently the leader of the movement "The Open Russia" gave to the newspaper The New Times in December 2013. Khodorkovsky said that he treated the Russia's territorial integrity as a priority and was ready to fight for it.

A material is recognized as extremist, if it contains direct or implied calls to extremist activities or the assertion of national, ethnic or racial superiority, said Alexander Verkhovskiy, the director of the "Sova". However, as he said, none of the above can be found in Zherebtsova's letter; "there are no calls in it whatsoever."

As for the reasons why the letter appeared on the list of extremist materials, Verkhovskiy suggested that "it could happen by occasion, since the letter was posted on one of separatists' websites."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.