Semyonov Aleksey Vitalevich (Panchokha)

In the Izhma district of the Komi Republic, at the end of December 2024, a criminal case was opened against local eco-activist Alexei Semenov for insulting a government official. According to the decision to open a criminal case, Semyonov entered the office of the head of the State Housing Inspectorate for the Izhma District, where he publicly and deliberately insulted the head of the State Housing Inspectorate, namely, he overturned the contents of a garbage bag on the desk. According to the investigation, Semenov's actions humiliated the victim's honor and dignity, and also undermined the authority of state authorities. The package contained, among other things, dirty toilet paper and a plastic bottle. During his act, the man said that "officials should comply with Putin's law, and reminded about Article 17.1 of the Federal Law "On Production and Consumption Waste." "Semenov's action is related to the fact that earlier the official refused to conduct a check on the actions of the regional operator removing garbage, who included a non-operational container site near a children's playground in the contract. Rights activists write that the operator began to issue bills for apartments with a debt for the previous three years. Semenov came to the official after he saw that a local resident was unloading a whole trunk of garbage bags at this illegal site. He picked up one of the dropped packages and went to the head of the Housing Inspectorate. Semenov himself links the new criminal case to his fight for the environmentalization of waste management. On 27 September 2024, the magistrate's court in Izhma found Alexei Semenov (Panchokha) guilty and sentenced the eco-activist to 250 hours of compulsory labour. In the village of Izhma, Komi Republic, in October 2022, a criminal case was opened against a local resident, a participant in protests against the construction of a landfill at the Shies station, Alexei Semyonov, on the charge of repeated "discrediting of the Russian army." The reason for the criminal prosecution was a photograph published on September 24, 2022 on VKontakte, of a garbage bag with the inscription ZOO in blue and yellow colors on the porch of the House of Culture in the village of Izhma. Mobilized individuals were gathered at the DK itself to participate in armed actions on the territory of Ukraine. The photograph was accompanied by text that, in the opinion of the security forces, discredits the Russian army. Prior to the initiation of criminal proceedings, Semenov was twice arrested on administrative offense charges - first for five days under the article on non-payment of a fine, after which he was immediately arrested for 10 days under the article on disobedience to police. Directly from the detention facility where he was serving his arrest, he was taken for investigative actions on October 13. After that, Semenova was placed under house arrest. On February 1, 2023, the measure of restraint was changed to a written undertaking not to leave. Earlier, in May 2022, Alexei Semyonov was held liable in a case of an administrative offense under the article on discrediting the army due to a post on VKontakte, which indicated the number of children who died due to the war in Ukraine at that time. On January 21, 2025, the Izhma District Court of the Komi Republic found Alexei Semyonov guilty and sentenced him to 1 year of imprisonment in a general regime colony, but released the activist from punishment due to the expiration of the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution.