The Human Rights Council under the President of Russia ( HRC ) will propose to the head of state to soften the article of the Criminal Code on libel and remove from the Criminal Code the article on insulting a government official, writes the Kommersant newspaper , which has obtained the text of the proposal.

“The interrogation (in the libel case of journalist Elena Masyuk , a member of the council . - Gazeta.Ru) became a challenge for the new composition of the HRC, to which it was necessary to respond,” HRC member Pavel Chikov told the newspaper .

Human rights activists propose to reduce the excessively inflated, in their opinion, amount of the fine of 5 million rubles, which implies the sanction of the article on libel, and also ask for clarification of fragments in the law that allow free interpretation.

“The definition of libel as the dissemination of knowingly false information does not reliably distinguish between facts and value judgments, the truth of which the accused will not be able to prove,” the proposal says.

In addition, the authors of the document propose to decriminalize Article 319 of the Criminal Code (insulting a government official), softening the punishment under it, and amend the law on obstruction of the legitimate professional activities of journalists, spelling out penalties for forcing a journalist to disseminate information and for the refusal of government officials to disseminate information.

HRC Chairman Mikhail Fedotov told Kommersant that these proposals will be made public and discussed at a meeting on Friday. After finalizing the recommendations, Fedotov will transfer them to the president - according to him, he intends to do this before March 15 next year.

Novaya Gazeta journalist Elena Masyuk became a witness in a criminal libel case initiated after the publication of an interview with the chairman of the Society for the Protection of Consumer Rights, Mikhail Anshakov, in which, among other things, it was about trade on the territory of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior .

A bill returning the article on libel to the Criminal Code was adopted by the State Duma in July .

Kommersant: The HRC will propose softening the article on libel and removing from the Criminal Code the article on insulting a government official - Gazeta.Ru