Garrison military courts in Karelia, the Murmansk region and the Khabarovsk Territory sentenced three military men because of “fakes” about the army. OVD-Info discovered information about this while monitoring court websites.
On August 18, the Krasnorechensky Garrison Military Court (Khabarovsk Territory) convicted Alexey Orlov under the article on disseminating “fakes” about the army (Part 1 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code).
On July 21, the Severomorsk Garrison Military Court (Murmansk Region) sentenced an unknown serviceman under the article on disseminating “fakes” motivated by hatred (clause “d”, part 2, article 207.3 of the Criminal Code).
On August 17, the Petrozavodsk Garrison Military Court (Karelia) found Dmitry Stronov guilty of distributing “fakes” (Part 1 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code).
In all three cases, the courts did not publish verdicts, so the details of each case are not yet known.
On October 14, the Severomorsk Garrison Military Court on September 26 sentenced another unnamed serviceman under the article on disseminating “fake news” (Part 1 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). OVD-Info found a case file on the court website.
As in other cases, the details of the case are not indicated on the card. However, it was noted that the verdict was appealed by both the defense and the prosecution.
- 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 700 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protest against the war with Ukraine. Read more about this in our infographic .
- Article 207.3 (Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation) was included in 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.