Kuzbass journalist Novashov sentenced to correctional labor for anti-war posts

The Rudnichny District Court of Prokopyevsk sentenced journalist Andrei Novashov, who was persecuted for his anti-war posts on VKontakte, to eight months of correctional labor, according to the human rights project Network Freedoms.

writes Novashov was found guilty under the article on "fakes" about the Russian army (Part 1 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). The four publications that became the reason for initiating the case used the phrases "occupiers", "aggressor country", "targeted bombing" and others. The journalist was also charged with reposting a post by Mariupol mayoral adviser Petro Andryushchenko, which spoke of the siege of the city.

During the debate, the prosecutor demanded that Novashov be sentenced to 11 months of correctional labor with 10% of his salary withheld in favor of the state. The prosecutor also asked for a two-year ban on him from posting information on the Internet.

Novashov does not agree with the charges: he believes that the criminal case against him is revenge by the security forces and authorities for his professional activities. In his final statement to Sibir.Realii, the journalist drew attention to the actions of the investigation: for example, the prosecution added to the case materials photocopies of journalistic credentials and texts by Novashov on the websites Sibir.Realii and Taiga.Info, although they have no relation to the essence of the case.

published On the criminal prosecution of a journalist in March 2022. After the search, he was banned from certain actions as a preventive measure: in particular, Novashov was banned from using the phone and the Internet. Subsequently, he was not allowed to communicate with his colleagues - correspondents of "Sibir.Realii" and "Taiga.info".

it became known appointed banned Later, the journalist that the prosecution witnesses are connected with the employee of the Center "E" who initiated the prosecution. In September, the activist "" in the court in the case of Novashov, noting that he gives testimony in cases of extremism "two or three times a year." Thus, earlier this activist gave testimony against the Kemerovo blogger and opposition activist.

NOD reported Maksim Lavrentyev Vyacheslav Chernov spoke - Since the first day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, residents of Russian cities have been taking part in anti-war protests every day and talking about the tragedy online. Protest speeches and statements are becoming grounds for criminal prosecution. At present, more than 450 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protests against the war with Ukraine. Read more about this in our guide - An article about "fakes" about the army in the Criminal Code in March 2022. This is how the authorities responded to anti-war statements and the dissemination of information about the war that does not come from official Russian sources. The maximum penalty under the article is 15 years of imprisonment .