A resident of the Krasnoyarsk Territory was finally charged in the case of discrediting

A resident of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Georgy Zykov, was finally charged; the investigation into the case of repeated discrediting of the Russian army and insulting a judge is over. This was announced by OVD-Info lawyer Dmitry Levichev, who represents his interests.

The case of repeated discrediting was initiated on several counts:

- publication on September 23, 2022 on the VKontakte page of two posts: “In 1941 the war was a liberation war, but now it’s an aggressive war” and “Right now Russia has a chance to build a state, not a commercial structure, but instead it is destroying the gene pool on unnecessary war";

— three publications in the Balakhta News group, in which he discussed the order of the commander-in-chief to send Russian troops into the territory of Ukraine and the feelings of Ukrainians.

A criminal case under Part 1 of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code can be opened against those who have been prosecuted at least once under a similar administrative article on discrediting the Russian military (Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code) during the year. In May 2022, the Balakhtinsky District Court fined Zykov 30 thousand rubles under the administrative article on discrediting the army (Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code) because of a post on VKontakte, in which he spoke out against the war and “Russian patriots”, as well as asked for forgiveness from the people of Ukraine. The decision came into force.

A case of insulting a judge against Zykov was opened in connection with a video in the Balakhta News group on VKontakte. The video claims that the magistrate judge of judicial precinct No. 7 of the Balakhtinsky district, Natalya Privalikhina, “is a member of an organized criminal group and makes illegal decisions when considering civil cases.” By publishing the video, according to the investigation, Zykov “discredited the honor and dignity of the justice of the peace and undermined her reputation.”

On October 3, 2022, they came to Zykov with a search. The security forces took away equipment and personal weapons. The reason for the visit is unknown, as the man was not at home. On October 31, Zykov was subjected to another search, after which he was taken to a temporary detention center. He stayed there, as his friend Marina said, “for two or three days.” Then the man was placed under house arrest, but later the measure of restraint was softened by banning certain actions.

• Since February 24, 2022—the first day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine—residents of Russian cities have been holding anti-war protests every day and talking about the tragedy online. Anti-war speeches and statements become grounds for criminal prosecution. At the moment, more than 550 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protest against the war with Ukraine. Read more about this in our infographic .
• 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. On March 14, 2023, the State Duma adopted amendments increasing the maximum penalty under this article, since then it has been seven years in prison.