The editor of Elista Courier was fined for an illustration with a swastika

In Kalmykia, the editor-in-chief of the Elistinskiy Kuryer newspaper was fined for displaying Nazi symbols, and the director of the printing house where the issue was printed was given the idea that it was unacceptable to violate the law on extremist activity.

In June 2015, it became known that on April 28, 2015, Elista The city court of the Republic of Kalmykia found A. Emgeldinov, editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Elistinsky Kurier", guilty under Part 1 Art. 20.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (propaganda and public display of Nazi symbols) and fined him 2,000 rubles with the confiscation of the circulation of the newspaper.

In addition, the Elista Prosecutor's Office submitted to the General Director NPP "Dzhangar" submission on elimination of violations of requirements legislation on countering extremist activity, the reason for which was the fact that the print run of the issue was printed in the printing house "Dzhangar".

The persecution of the newspaper and the printing house was caused by the issue of the Elista Courier of March 25, 2015. One of the materials of this issue is the article "In search of Lost Kalmykness" - illustrated with a photograph of a St. Petersburg skinhead, on the back of which is a tattoo in the form of a Nazi eagle. Article published in the newspaper, contains criticism of the national policy existing in Russia, and an illustration designed to highlight the danger of a rise in neo-Nazi sentiment.

In our opinion, the administrative persecution of the editor (and even more so the sanctions against the printing house) are unlawful. The illustration published in the newspaper was clearly not aimed at propaganda of Nazism. However, the current legislation provides punishment for both propaganda and any other public display forbidden symbolism, which very often does not have propaganda purposes.

Sources

• The prosecutor's office, together with law enforcement agencies, took measures to eliminate violations of the law on countering extremist activities by the newspaper "Elistinsky Kurier" and NPP "Dzhangar" // Website of the Prosecutor's Office of the Republic of Kalmykia. 2015. June 10.