Iosilevich Mikhail Aleksandrovich

On September 29, 2020, a criminal case was initiated in Nizhny Novgorod for collaboration with an undesirable organization against a local 43-year-old civil activist, the leader of the 'Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster,' Mikhail Iosilevich. According to the investigation, until April 7, 2019, Iosilevich collaborated with the "Open Russia" movement, recognized as undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation. It is claimed that Iosilevich provided his premises for an event to train observers for the September elections - while the organizer of the trainings was the movement "Golos", not "Open Russia. Earlier, in July 2019, Iosilevich was fined in a case of an administrative offense under the article on cooperation with an undesirable organization. In the morning of October 1, 2020, searches were conducted in the apartment of Iosilevich and a number of other Nizhny Novgorod civil activists and journalists. Iosilevich himself was released after the search, having been issued a summons for interrogation on October 5. Security forces also conducted searches of activists Yuri Shaposhnikov, Alexei Sadomovsky, former employee of Navalny's headquarters Dmitry Silivonchik and Mikhail Borodin, who was involved in training observers for the elections. A search was also conducted at journalist Irina Slavina. They burst in at 6 a.m. with a gas cutter and a crowbar, took all flash drives, the journalist's and her daughter's laptops, computer, phones and notebooks from the house, leaving the Slavina family without means of communication. The next day, on October 1, 2020, Irina Slavina committed an act of self-immolation in front of the building of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Nizhny Novgorod Region, after writing in a farewell post on "Facebook" the words "I ask that the Russian Federation be blamed for my death. On January 19, 2021, a second criminal case was initiated against Iosilevich - for failure to notify of a second citizenship. On January 30, 2021, Ioselovich was arrested and placed in a pre-trial detention center. On April 23, 2021, it became known that another criminal case was initiated against Iosilevich - on the threat of murder or causing serious harm to health. On August 17, Iosilevich was released from custody due to the maximum period of detention for a minor crime. He was required to sign a pledge not to leave. 27 May 2022, the Soviet District Court of Nizhny Novgorod found Mikhail Iosilevich guilty and sentenced him to 1 year 8 months of imprisonment to be served in a penal colony-settlement. He was taken into custody in the courtroom. The verdict was not appealed and entered into legal force.