The Russian Interior Ministry has launched criminal proceedings against a resident of Russia’s Amur region for “discrediting the Russian army” in a first-ever repeat offence case under this law in Russia.
The ministry’s department for the Amur region reports that the man was previously hit with a 45,000-ruble (about $700) fine after the police filed administrative charges against him for “discrediting” the Russian military. The prosecution claims that he continued his social media activity following the fine, publishing about a dozen posts criticising Russia’s actions in Ukraine. This was brought to the attention of local police officers.
The 53-year-old man has a criminal record: he served time in prison for “slandering the judge”, contempt of court and obstruction of justice. He is currently serving a 15-day administrative sentence for “demonstration of Nazi symbols,” the police reports. He now faces up to 3 years behind bars.
Mediazona news outlet points out that this is the first criminal case opened for “repeat discreditation of the Russian army,” an article that was recently added to the Russian Criminal Code. The outlet says that the man in question could be activist Vladislav Nikitenko: he was fined in March for filing a police report demanding to launch criminal proceedings against the region’s governor. In May, he was arrested for showing a swastika in a video published on his YouTube channel.
