Yuri Kobzar16:09, 24.11.23

Previously, Russia was very active in opening criminal cases on events that took place beyond its borders.

The Russian FSB did not find any grounds to investigate the murders and abductions of two dozen Russian citizens by Hamas militants during the attack on Israel on October 7. As the Russian opposition publication “We Can Explain” writes , the refusal to initiate criminal cases against Hamas members is probably explained by the fact that in this case they would have to be included in the lists of terrorists.

It is noted that during the Hamas attack on Israel, 16 Russians were killed, at least 8 were taken hostage. But the FSB refused the request of St. Petersburg municipal deputy Sergei Samusev, who asked to conduct an investigation.

“The information provided has been taken into account, however, there are currently no grounds for the federal security service to take response measures,” the FSB responded to the deputy in response to his request to open a case into the deaths of the Russians.

It is noteworthy that a month earlier, in response to a request from the same deputy, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office explained why it could not recognize Hamas as a terrorist organization. Then the prosecutor’s office stated that “they do not have information about judicial acts that have entered into legal force against members of the Hamas group and the facts of their activities.”

How Russia “investigated” the war in Donbass

In the context of the FSB’s refusal to investigate the murders of Russians by the Kremlin-friendly Hamas, it should be remembered that even before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and before the formal annexation of Donbass, Russian “law enforcement” regularly opened criminal cases against Ukrainians for participating in the war, which, according to Putin himself, Russia had nothing to do with it.

For example, the Russian Investigative Committee very often began investigations into cases of “shelling” by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Of course, the actions of illegal armed groups in Donbass did not bother Russia.

In 2021, an episode became quite scandalous when a Ukrainian journalist published a video of himself shooting from a howitzer, either on the front line or at a training ground. The Russians found it appropriate to open a criminal case even on this episode.

(C)UNIAN 2023