The case of marathon runner Vladimir Sukhorukov about repeated discrediting of the army (Part 1 of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code) was submitted to the Pechora District Court for consideration on the merits. The case file appeared on the court website.
The criminal case against the marathon runner became known on July 4, 2023. Then a search was carried out at his home, after which Sukhorukov was placed in a temporary detention center until his trial. The court chose a ban on certain actions as a preventive measure.
The reason for initiating the case was posts and comments on VKontakte; during the search, Sukhorukov’s computer, phone and Estonian passport were confiscated.
In April 2022, Sukhorukov was fined 35 thousand rubles in an administrative case for discrediting the army (Part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). Then the man was charged with his avatar, status and captions for videos on his VKontakte page.
- Since February 24, 2022—the first day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine—residents of Russian cities have been holding anti-war protests every day and talking about the tragedy online. Anti-war speeches and statements become grounds for criminal prosecution. At the moment, more than 850 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protest against the war with Ukraine. Read more about this in our infographic .
- Article 280.3 (Public actions aimed at discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation) was included in the Criminal Code in March 2022 - in this way the government responded to anti-war speeches and statements, as well as the dissemination of information about the war that does not come from official Russian sources. On March 14, 2023, the State Duma adopted amendments increasing the maximum penalty under this article, since then it has been seven years in prison.