Moscow’s Tagansky District Court fined the interregional public organization “Union of Journalists and Media Workers” 500,000 rubles under an administrative article about “discrediting” the Russian Armed Forces. The decision was posted on the court’s website on Wednesday, August 3.
“According to the literal content of the prosecution’s position, the organization was held responsible for “spreading ideas related to a negative attitude towards the special military operation conducted by the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine”, said lawyer Maxim Krupsky.
The fine will be appealed
According to the defense, the organization is “really held accountable for exercising its constitutional right to freedom of expression.” “The court did not specify to which law the disclosure of a negative opinion about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the special military operation is contrary and where the current legislation establishes the obligation of citizens and organizations to maintain an exclusively positive opinion about them”, emphasized the lawyer Krupsky, adding that the organization will appeal the fine.
According to the Sota project, the reason for the protocol was the texts “Declaration of Perugia in Support of Ukraine and “We Demand Stop the War”, published on the day the Russian invasion of the neighboring country began – February 24.
Prosecutor demands union liquidation
In July, Moscow’s prosecutors asked the court to liquidate the Union of Journalists and Media Workers, citing, among other things, the opening of an administrative proceeding to discredit the Russian military. The court suspended the organization’s activities.
The reason for the prosecutor’s appeal was “the publication on the organization’s website of a publication containing false information about the progress of a special military operation to protect the self-proclaimed “DPR” and “LPR” aimed at discrediting the use of the Russian Armed Forces”, wrote the media.
According to the Public Ministry, the union posts “information of an illegal nature” on the Internet, and its activity “involves the violation of human and civil rights and freedoms, causing damage to public order and security, society and the State. “
Source: DW
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