Now Sergei Semenov, convicted in December 2016 for raping the then-minor Diana Shurygina, lives in Samara - he left his native Ulyanovsk when he was released in January 2018. In total, the young man spent less than two years in custody, of which eight months were under house arrest.

Moreover, Semenov was initially sentenced to eight years and three months in a maximum security colony. The defense side appealed this decision, and the court of appeal significantly softened the sentence - its term was reduced to three years and three months in a general regime colony. However, Semyonov served even less, because the court replaced the unserved part of the term with a milder type of punishment.

The investigation and the trial of the rape by Shurygina was accompanied by great hype in the press and the release of numerous scandalous episodes of television shows with the participation of the victim. After this, largely because of the very controversial circumstances of the incident, the girl's name became a household name. As a result, many in this story sided with Semyonov, believing him to be a victim of a slander on the part of Shurygin.

According to Sergey himself, once in the wild, he only dreamed of being left alone. Then people have not forgotten the scandal, and it is often recognized on the streets.

“At first I was not adapted at all, although I did not sit for ten, not 13 years, but for a year. But taking into account eight months of house arrest, for almost two years I did not have an ordinary life. I wanted an elementary: to sit at home, watch TV, sleep. And then everything fell upon me: Instagram, subscribers, a bunch of left pages with me. People recognized me, approached me on the street - it was wild for me, ”Semenov admits.

  • Sergey Semenov: “I did not feel ordinary life”

Human rights project

In addition to the increased attention, Sergei encountered difficulties in finding a job - no one wanted to take a person with a criminal record. According to Semenov, even if he successfully passed the interview, he was not able to pass an audit of the security services of companies that were ready to hire him.

“There were about five interviews that were refused me because of a criminal record. I did not hide the fact that we are convicted. Some said: “Yes, we know you, we are on your side, but there is a regulation according to which people with a criminal record are not allowed in our company,” says Sergey. “In the end (I have to live on something) I started working in a taxi.”

According to him, the work suits him - especially because he can plan his schedule himself. In his free time, Semenov decided to help people who were faced with situations similar to the one he visited himself - those who believe that he was convicted unjustly.

“I had a feeling that what happened to me was not just. It is almost unbelievable that I was like this: once - and they released me a year later. Now there is a feeling that they helped me and I need to do something in return, ”Sergey explains.

After his release, he received many letters from people who, in their opinion, were unjustly convicted under various criminal articles. First, Semyonov asked questions to their friend, lawyer Sergei Halchenko, whom he met at one of the meetings on his own case. Now they understand together with the appeals to them.

  • Sergei Semenov: “I did not leave the feeling that what happened to me is not just”

Soon the idea of ​​creating a full-fledged human rights project came up. In an interview with RT, lawyer Sergei Halchenko, with whom Semyonov collaborates, noted that now in Russia there is a demand for legal support in a similar format.

“Sergei has a good idea, because with the judicial system that now exists, people have a need to be protected by society as well. It is necessary that it somehow helps, expresses its opinion on a specific situation, ”explains Halchenko.

Legal Aid and Publicity

Now Sergey Semenov is working on the creation of the YouTube channel of the project, operator Vitaly Burmasov has already joined his team. In addition to providing legal assistance, project participants seek to make public the stories that reach them. Sergey himself is sure that it was thanks to the public outcry that he managed to get free so quickly.

“We have two areas: legal and actually informational. It is necessary that the story is noticed, then there is a chance that something will change. Sometimes we try to get in touch with TV people, but they don’t always tackle stories, but on TV it’s important to make a clash between the two sides, to make a show. Moreover, in most cases, one side is just ready to tell everything, and the other is afraid or embarrassed, ”notes Sergey.

The legal part of the work is done by Sergey Halchenko. According to him, people can call them, just to get advice, to learn how to behave in court. But the format of work as a whole is quite multifaceted. So, according to some requests, the team can go to the region, where the request for help came from.

“We help people to navigate the situation, we can tell you how to behave. We can also provide specific assistance with studying the materials of a criminal case, preparing complaints, taking part in court hearings, finding lawyers and independent experts in a particular region, ”the lawyer said.

  • Lawyer Sergey Halchenko
  • © RT

First thing

The first thing that Semenov decided to deal with closely came to him from Nizhny Novgorod. In 2018, two young people of 17 and 18 years old were convicted there for raping a minor. The girl’s mother contacted the police, but only a year after the alleged rape.

According to the victim, on September 1, 2017, she came to the garage, where two young men were. At some point, the eldest of friends asked the second teenager to leave them alone with the girl. She later stated that the second young man had also committed sexual violence, although she initially claimed that he was just standing on the street. The young man remaining in the garage did not deny that he had a connection with the minor, but by mutual consent. However, the second claimed complete non-involvement in the crime. Nevertheless, the court sentenced both to long terms.

Subsequently, the correspondence of the victim with the acquaintances of the convicts surfaced - in them the schoolgirl admits that there was nothing illegal on the part of the younger teenager. Now Semenov and Halchenko are trying to achieve a review of the case.

Difficulty in work

Sergei admits that sometimes he has to deal with dishonest people. Some, for example, conceal part of the information, talking about their problem - in such cases, the Semyonov team has to find out all the circumstances of the story for a long time, be sure to search and question all sides of the conflict.

“Somewhere there are doubts, somewhere we ask you to send the whole thing, but, for example, they send it in pieces - that is, those fragments that expose people in a bad light, they hide,” says Semyonov.

  • © RT

Semenov also complains that many come for help too late, often turn when the court has already passed a guilty verdict.

“Sometimes people turn when they have almost gone through all instances and begin to write out of hopelessness. And it is advisable to do this immediately - either at the stage of the investigation, or as soon as the appeal has passed, ”he notes.

Sergey pays for all personal expenses related to trips to the regions from where requests for help come from, but the work of lawyers and independent experts in the field is already paid by those who turned to Semyonov with their problem.

“I myself simply cannot cover such expenses. But for ourselves, we never demand compensation. If you can prove that an innocent person was unjustly convicted, this is the most important reward, ”he adds.