Another case was opened against a Nizhny Novgorod resident about “discrediting” the Russian army. He was placed under house arrest • OVD-Info • RIMA

Another case was opened against a Nizhny Novgorod resident about “discrediting” the Russian army. He was placed under house arrest

A second criminal case was opened against a resident of Nizhny Novgorod under the article on discrediting the Russian army (Part 1 of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

According to preliminary information, as the head of the Nizhny Novgorod branch of Yabloko, Oleg Rodin, told SOTA, we are talking about an activist of this party, Andrei Sorochkin. In April, the first case was opened against him under Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code.

The reason for the first case was a poster with “inaccurate information about the Russian army,” which traffic police officers found on the rear window of Sorochkin’s car. Security forces conducted searches at his home and seized posters with “similar inscriptions” - because of the seized posters, they opened another criminal case.

Initially, Sorochkin was given a preventive measure in the form of a ban on certain actions. According to security forces, after this the man tried to hide abroad, but he was detained and placed under house arrest.

The department's press service added that in April the man was fined 40 thousand rubles under an administrative article about discrediting the Russian army (Part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code).

The news headline has been changed due to updated information about the new preventive measure

Since February 24—the first day of the “special operation” in Ukraine—residents of Russian cities have been going out to anti-war rallies every day and talking about the tragedy online. Anti-war speeches and statements become grounds for criminal prosecution. At the moment, more than 160 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protest against the war with Ukraine. Read more about this in our guide .
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. The maximum penalty under the article is five years in prison.