A court in Primorye sentenced a person involved in the case of “fake news” about the Russian army to six months of correctional labor.

On August 2, the Ussuriysky District Court of the Primorsky Territory sentenced Fyodor Erbes to six months of correctional labor because of a video about the war published in a WhatsApp group. The man was found guilty of spreading “fake news” about the Russian army (Part 1 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). Text of the verdict on the court website.

According to the court decision, for six months five percent of the convict's wages will be withheld in favor of the state.

According to the verdict, Erbes distributed a video in a WhatsApp chat that showed the destroyed cities of Donbass and broken Russian equipment, and two dialogues between military personnel were heard. The dialogues talk about casualties among the military and the difficulties they face when trying to leave the front. According to the expert who conducted the psychological and linguistic examination, the video contains “fakes” about the Russian army.

The man agreed with the accusation, fully admitted his guilt and petitioned for the case to be considered in a special manner (without a trial). The verdict also states that Erbes is raising a young child; the court recognized this as a mitigating circumstance.

• 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 350 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protest against the war with Ukraine. Read more about this in our. guide - Article 207.3 (Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation) into the Criminal Code in March 2022 - in this way the authorities 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 this article is 15 years in prison. turned on