The Moscow City Court upheld a fine of 500 thousand rubles to International Memorial under the law on “foreign agents”

The Moscow City Court dismissed the defense's complaint and upheld a fine of 500,000 rubles for International Memorial. This was reported in the press service of the organization.

The interests of International Memorial were represented in court by lawyer Arseniy Levinson.

Earlier, the Tverskoy District Court imposed a fine under the article on the publication and distribution of materials by an organization recognized as a “foreign agent”, without indicating this status (part 2 of article 19.34 of the Code of Administrative Offenses).

The administrative case was opened in September 2020 after a prosecutor's check. The reason for his initiation was the lack of a “foreign agent” marking on the materials that the organization distributed at the Moscow International Book Fair in September 2020.

Employees of the prosecutor's office came to the fair and, pretending to be interested visitors, found out how to get one of the books presented by Memorial.

When they were explained the conditions for the distribution of materials, they introduced themselves and announced an unscheduled inspection. After that, the prosecutor's office seized six books, three sets of cards (leaflets), as well as a board game on Soviet history "74".

• In 2020, at least 28 protocols were drawn up against the Human Rights Center "Memorial" and "International Memorial" on non-compliance with the law on foreign agents.
• The total amount of fines has already reached 6.1 million rubles. "Memorial" is collecting donations to pay fines under the article on "foreign agents". Memorial International was listed as a "foreign agent" in 2016.