In a new place

The complaint of journalist Manana Aslamazyan was satisfied on May 27 by the Constitutional Court of Russia. The former head of the Educated Media Foundation challenged the provisions of Part 1 of Article 188 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which define the concept of smuggling.

The applicant argued that the wording of the article contradicts the principle of legal certainty, since both administrative and criminal liability may arise for the same act.

Now, according to the law on currency regulation, you can import or export into Russia an amount equivalent to 10 thousand dollars without declaring. At the same time, according to the Criminal Code, undeclared import or export of more than 250 thousand rubles is considered smuggling.

The court found the challenged norm to be inconsistent with the Constitution and to violate the principles of equality and justice.

A criminal case against Aslamazyan was initiated in January 2007. She did not declare 9,550 euros and 5,130 rubles at customs. Aslamazyan's lawyers argue that this is not a criminal, but an administrative offense. After the initiation of the case, a series of searches took place in the Educated Media office. In addition, law enforcement agencies began a separate inspection of the fund’s management on suspicion of being involved in illegal business and money laundering. As a result, the fund announced the cessation of its activities, and in July its co-founders decided to liquidate.

Meanwhile, the hearing on Aslamazyan’s complaint was the first after the Constitutional Court moved to St. Petersburg.