An activist from the Ivanovo region was charged under a criminal article for discrediting the army

In the Ivanovo region, local activist Sergei Veselov was charged under the article on repeated discrediting of the army (Part 1 of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by lawyer from OVD-Info Oscar Cherdzhiev.

Veselov is a defendant in two criminal cases about re-discrediting the army. The reason for the first case was videos on Veselov’s YouTube channel , which at that time had 16 subscribers. Then he was required to appear. A second case under the same article was opened on September 12 because of Veselov’s speech at the court hearing on his appeal. Then the man condemned the war in Ukraine, and later posted the recording on YouTube.

In August and September , the activist’s apartment was searched in connection with the first case of repeated discreditation.

In addition to discrediting the army, Veselov is charged with vandalism (Part 1 of Article 214 of the Criminal Code) - in March a case was opened against him because of the inscription “No to war” on the city administration building.

• A criminal case under Part 1 of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code for repeated discrediting of the Russian Army can be initiated against those who have been brought to justice under Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses at least once during the year. In June, Sergei Veselov was fined under an administrative article for defamation.
• Article 280.3 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 did not come from official Russian sources. The maximum penalty under the article is five years in prison. Dissenters are being persecuted not only under the new article of the criminal code - at the moment, more than 260 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protest against the war with Ukraine. Read more about this in our guide .