Former assistant to the head of Bashkortostan and host of the Open Media YouTube channel, Rostislav Murzagulov, was fined 30 thousand rubles under the article on violating “foreign agency” legislation (Part 2 of Article 19.34 of the Administrative Code). This was reported by Mediazona with reference to the press service of the Nagatinsky District Court of Moscow.
The protocol against Murzagulov was drawn up due to failure to provide the Ministry of Justice with a report on the activities of the “foreign agent”. The man was added to the register in December 2022. In November, he filed a claim with the Supreme Court against the Ministry of Justice regarding the department’s inaction, demanding to recognize himself as a “foreign agent.” In the statement of claim, he indicated that he considers the registry to be “a list of decent and courageous people.” After the start of the war, Murzagulov left Russia. On the YouTube channel “Open Media”, associated with Mikhail Khodorkovsky, he hosts the opposition political show “Obscene News”.
- The legislation on “foreign agents” is becoming stricter every year. On December 1, 2022, the law “On control over the activities of persons under foreign influence” came into force, as well as numerous legislative amendments to “foreign agency” regulation. You can read about the list of “affiliated persons”, new registers and other innovations in the law on “foreign agents” in the analysis of OVD-Info .
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In addition, Vladimir Putin signed a law on imprisonment for a term of up to five years for “foreign agents” who were brought to justice twice in a year for violating the procedure for the activities of a “foreign agent” (Article 19.34 of the Administrative Code).
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In the fall of 2021, OVD-Info launched the Inoteka project . We explore the practice of applying laws on “foreign agents”, talk about their impact on civil society and specific people, initiate discussions with experts and suggest ways of possible changes. In December 2021, together with the Center for the Protection of Media Rights, we began to provide legal support to people and organizations that were included in the registers of “foreign agents.”