SAVVA TERENTYEV v. RUSSIA JUDGMENT 5 (b) Judgment of 7 July 2008 21. On 7 July 2008 the Town Court found the applicant guilty under Article 282 § 1 of the Russian Criminal Code for “having publicly committed actions aimed at inciting hatred and enmity and humiliating the dignity of a group of persons on the grounds of their membership of a social group”. The court based its findings on, among other evidence, the expert reports of 30 April 2007 and 19 June 2008, stating that it had no reasons to doubt the experts’ conclusions as those were consistent with the circumstances of the case as established by the court. 22. The court stated, in particular, that the applicant, acting out of his personal aversion towards police officers, “[had] decided to influence the public with the aims of inciting them to commit violent actions against police officers, of instilling the public with the resolve and aspiration to commit unlawful actions in respect of [the police officers]”. According to the court, “the police officers of Russia [were] a large social group – people united by their common activity in protecting the life, health, rights and liberties of people, property, public and State interests from crimes and offences”. It also noted that the applicant “[had been] aware of the illegal nature of his actions when he [had] published his text aimed at inciting enmity and hatred, imbued with hostility, hatred and humiliation of the dignity of the police officers of Russia... on a more popular Internet blog than his own ... and thus [he had] made it accessible to a larger readership” and that “... access to the text [had been] unrestricted and it [had] remained accessible ... for approximately one month ...” 23. The Town Court went on to note that the impugned text had been generalised and impersonal and had drawn no distinctions on any grounds; the word “cop” had been used with a negative and insulting meaning. According to the Town Court, the applicant had “argued that the police officers’ [had been] inferior on account of their professional grouping”, had humiliated their dignity by comparing them with “pigs” and ascribing to them the humiliating characteristics of “lowbrows and hoodlums – the dumbest and most uneducated representatives of the animal world ...” and “cop-hoodlum filth”. 24. In the court’s view, the applicant “negatively [influenced] public opinion with the aim of inciting social hatred and enmity, escalating social conflict and controversy in society and awakening base instincts in people” and “[set] the community against police officers in calling for [their] physical extermination by ordinary people”. According to the trial court, “the text [did] not allow for any ambiguous interpretation of [its] content and meaning, because it [was] understandable to any average native speaker of Russian who [had] basic oral and written language skills”. 25. The Town Court also found that the impugned text could not be viewed as a criticism, as it had not been intended as a discussion of any shortcomings or as an analysis or assessment of something specific.