The editor-in-chief of The New Times, Evgenia Albats, was fined 40 thousand rubles for not being labeled as a “foreign agent” (Part 4 of Article 19.34 of the Administrative Code). This was reported by RusNews, information was also published on the website of the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow.
The Ministry of Justice included Albats in the register of media “foreign agents” on July 29, 2022; in September of the same year, she left Russia for the United States.
14:18 Former deputy of the Pskov regional assembly and head of the Pskov branch of the Yabloko party Lev Shlosberg was also found guilty under the article on the lack of marking as a “foreign agent”; the Pskov city court fined him 30 thousand rubles. This was reported by the joint press service of the regional courts. The protocol on the politician was drawn up in November 2023.
Shlosberg was added to the register of “foreign agents” in July 2022. In its decision, the Ministry of Justice then stated that the politician opposed the war in Ukraine, published materials from other “foreign agents,” and also “disseminated false information about the decisions taken by public authorities of the Russian Federation and the policies pursued by them.” At the same time, the department did not indicate that Schlosberg received any financial or other assistance from foreign organizations or persons associated with them.
17:25 The Pskov City Court fined Lev Shlosberg another 30 thousand rubles under the article on the absence of the “foreign agent” marking. This was reported by the press service of the courts of the Pskov region.
19:30 The Pskov City Court found Lev Shlosberg guilty in an administrative case of disseminating information about a terrorist organization without indicating its status (Part 2 of Article 13.15 of the Administrative Code). The man was fined two thousand rubles. This was reported by the press service of the courts of the Pskov region.
It is unknown what became the reason for drawing up the protocol. The case materials were received by the court in November 2023, the hearing was postponed several times.
The news title has been changed due to the appearance of information about a fine for Lev Shlosberg.
- 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 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).
- 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.”