The Investigative Committee instigated a criminal case under part 2 of article 343 of the Criminal Code, “distribution of pornographic materials via the Internet”, regarding the alleged distribution of pornographic movies from the e-mail address belonging to the human rights activist (sudalenko@mail.ru). Pornographic materials had allegedly been sent from that E-mail address and the IP-address registered in the social and political center in Palieskaja Street, 52 to the Saviecki District Inspection on Dues and Taxes of Homel and Homel Regional Department of the Investigative Committee.
On 8 April a search was held at the socio-political center and in the apartment of Mr. Sudalenka. As a result, the system units of four computers were taken away, allegedly for an examination. The search in the apartment of Sudalenka took place while he was away at a human rights conference in Sweden. The police explained that some pornography had allegedly been sent from the e-mail and the IP-address belonging to the NGO “Legal Initiative”. The human rights activist didn’t use this e-mail address after it had been hacked. Many public events, seminars and meetings are held at the socio-political center. Many people know the password from the Wi-Fi, which also used to be written at the blackboard for a long time. That’s why somebody could use that Wi-Fi connection even outside the building.
“It’s no doubt that the criminal case is a provocation. It’s just nonsense that Leаnid Sudalenka, a human rights defender, a man of such status and age would engaged in such things. In the socio-political centre we are teaching people computer security, advanced IT technologies and meanwhile a human rights defender sends pornography from his own inbox – who can believe in such nonsense,”- said the informal leader of the centre Uladzimir Katsora.
On 13 May, the questioning dealt mostly with technical issues: when the human rights defender registered the E-mail address, how long he has been using it, who had access to the Internet via Wi-Fi.
The investigator informed the human rights defender that the computers that had been seized during the search, had been passed for an expert examination and could be returned to their owners after its completion. The investigation has also sent inquiries to the technical service of Mail.ru. As a rule, one has to wait 1-2 months or even longer for an answer.
Earlier, Sudalenka had presented to the investigation evidence that he had nothing to do with the crime. In particular, he presented scans of his correspondence with the technical service of Mail.ru about the aforementioned E-mail address being hacked in December 2014 and the human rights defender hadn’t controlled it since then. What concerns the IP-address, Wi-Fi at the centre could be used by any person who visited events in the social-political center.Sudalenka states that this criminal case is a provocation. He reminds that a month ago he demanded that the Homel Regional Department of the Investigation Committee find the IP and the persons who were publishing insults addressed to him and threatened to kill his children. However, the police failed to do it. The prosecutor’s office demanded that these persons be found, but the second reply was negative as well.
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