The court returned to the prosecutor's office the case of “fake news” about the Russian army, filed against a resident of Vorkuta

On November 9, the Vorkuta City Court of the Komi Republic returned to the prosecutor’s office the criminal case against local resident Pavel Drozdov, accused under the article on “fake news” about the Russian army (Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). Information about this OVD-Info on the court website; it was confirmed and supplemented by the man’s lawyer, Roman Solovyov.

discovered According to investigators, Drozdov created a group in one of the instant messengers, which consisted of at least 28 participants. There he posted two videos “containing deliberately false information” about the Russian armed forces. The indictment states that the Vorkuta resident left comments “with untrue information” in public communities on the Internet.

The indictment states that Drozdov is an adherent of pacifist views, and at the same time, his motive is stated to be hatred of military personnel. The court considered this and other inconsistencies grounds for returning the case materials to the prosecutor's office for revision. The court's decision was appealed by both the defense and the prosecution.

The man was also charged with several counts of illegal sale of narcotic drugs (Article 228.1 of the Criminal Code). Based on these episodes, the court found Drozdov guilty.

• 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 360 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 to the Criminal Code in March 2022 - this is how the authorities responded to anti-war protests and statements, as well as the dissemination of information about the war that did not come from official Russian sources. The maximum penalty under this article is 15 years in prison. turned on