On September 17, the Central District Court of Chita received materials from the case of repeated discrediting of the army (Part 1 of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code) against local resident Andrei Solovyov. OVD-Info drew attention to this.
It is unknown what became the reason for the persecution.
A case under a criminal article for discrediting the army can be brought against those who have already been charged with an administrative article for discrediting the army within a year (Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code). In September 2022, Solovyov was fined 15 thousand rubles according to the protocol under such an article. It is unknown what became the reason for the persecution.
- 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 1,000 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.