The Moscow Babushkinsky District Court handed down a six-year prison term to three activists connected with the StopHam movement in relation to clashes with security personnel from the Grom special forces of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. The ruling was communicated by the press service of Moscow courts of general jurisdiction and reflects how authorities view incidents involving civilian protests and state actors within the capital region.
According to the court, Kirill Bunin, Kirill Kotov, and Alexey Gorbachevsky were found guilty of violence against government officials in violation of Article 318 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation and of hooliganism committed by a group, under Part 2 of Article 213 of the Criminal Code. The prosecutors had pressed for the identical prison sentence that the court ultimately imposed. In such cases, the state emphasizes offenses that target law enforcement officers and that occur in the context of organized group actions during protests or demonstrations.
The incident in question occurred in June 2022 when activists from StopHam, who were opposing what they described as illegal parking practices by vehicles associated with commercial and security services, confronted members of the Thunder special forces. A minibus carrying security personnel was parked near the Tanuki restaurant on Yaroslavskoye Highway. The situation escalated as protesters engaged with uniformed officers and subsequently blocked the vehicle’s route, which led to the detentions that followed. Reportedly, the events culminated in a harsh arrest that drew attention to tensions between protesters and security units during that period.
In a separate note, reports from the time recount an unrelated incident in Krasnoyarsk where a bus was set on fire following an argument with a woman at a gas station. This incident, while not connected to the StopHam case, illustrates broader themes of protest-related clashes and the volatility that can accompany public demonstrations and the responses of security forces in different regions of the country.