Defender criticizes court’s conclusions about Kalmyk pensioner allegedly discrediting Russian Army

A court found Vera Kichikova, a resident of the village of Yashkul, guilty of discrediting the Russian Armed Forces and fined her, although the pensioner did not mention the Russian Army in her comments, said Vera Kichikova’s representative Valery Badmaev. The defender also pointed out gross procedural violations in the case, which was re-sent to court and considered without the knowledge of Vera Kichikova herself.

On October 29, the Elista City Court returned Vera Kichikova’s case to the police due to procedural violations. The protocol against the pensioner was drawn up because of her comment on the “VKontakte” social network, in which the woman criticized a military man for participating in hostilities.

In their post about a resident of Kalmykia who was captured, social media users wrote that they were looking for his relatives or acquaintances. In her comments, Vera Kichikova stated that the man “wanted to earn money” by going “with firearms to a foreign country.”

Vera Kichikova was fined unlawfully, and the court’s ruling should be challenged, states activist Valery Badmaev. He emphasizes that neither the post nor the comment written by Vera Kichikova mentioned either the Russian Armed Forces or Ukraine.

No examination of the statements has been carried out, the public figure notes.

Vera Kichikova herself pleads not guilty. “It was just a correspondence in the comments. Some (woman) there was insulting the Kalmyks and calling them traitors. I got excited and answered her,” the pensioner explained.