The Elista City Court sentenced the editor-in-chief of the publication “Modern Kalmykia” Valery Badmaev to a fine of 150 thousand rubles in the case of repeated discrediting of the Russian army (Part 1 of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code). The Caucasian Knot reports this.
The man was also banned for two years from publishing materials on the Internet and publishing a newspaper. He himself did not agree with the verdict. “I need to be acquitted. They have no evidence,” he said. He called the restrictions that were imposed on him a “harsh measure.” “I have a newspaper, I am the editor-in-chief. Just now I was preparing the number. And now that's it. The same goes for the YouTube channel. It is important for people to read and listen to my resources; they need independent information. People come up to me on the street and ask me when the next issue will be,” the journalist added.
Badmaev was charged with reposting a video on VKontakte with a story from a soldier of the Ukrainian Azov battalion that phosphorus bombs were used against the defenders of the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. The prosecutor asked him for three years in a penal colony.
Badmaev was detained in Elista on December 9, 2022. At the same time, it became known that a criminal case had been opened against him under the article on repeated discrediting of the Russian army. The journalist's home was searched, and security forces confiscated his mobile phone and laptop. Initially, the Elista City Court chose a ban on certain actions as a preventive measure for Badmaev: the journalist was prohibited from using the Internet and communications. However, in March 2023, the preventive measure was changed to a written undertaking not to leave. This happened after the examination did not find any signs of discrediting the Russian army in the video recording imputed to him. The prosecutor's office twice refused to approve the indictment in the case, but in the end the case went to trial.
- Valery Badmaev is a Kalmyk journalist and human rights activist, the initiator of the Congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk people. On May 30, 2021, the day after the congress of the Oirat-Kalmyk people, a man was detained, an administrative protocol was drawn up against him under the article on repeated violation of the procedure for holding an action (Part 8 of Article 20.2 of the Administrative Code). As a result, the court sentenced Badmaev to 40 hours of compulsory work.
- 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 750 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.