The Savelovsky District Court of Moscow imposed a fine of 50 thousand rubles on five public figures who were included in the register of “foreign agents”. This was reported by the press service of the capital's courts.
Among those fined: rapper Alisher Morgenstern , human rights activist Alena Popova , ex-State Duma deputy Dmitry Gudkov , as well as journalists Sergei Loiko and Rovshan Askerov . They were found guilty under the article on distributing information materials without the marking of “foreign agent” (Part 4 of Article 19.34 of the Administrative Code).
According to the pro-government telegram channel SHOT, Morgenstern was charged with publishing an advertisement about how to avoid conscription into the army. The protocol on it was drawn up in early December. It is not yet known what became the reason for the administrative prosecution of the rest of those fined. Earlier, Popova said that she would not put the “foreign agent” tag in her posts.
- 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 .
- 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.”