The editor-in-chief of the publication “Pskov Province” Denis Kamalyagin was arrested in absentia. The publication itself reports this with reference to the journalist’s lawyers.
This decision was made by the Pskov City Court.
On February 5, it became known that a criminal case had been opened against Kamalyagin under the article on evading the duties of a “foreign agent” (Part 2 of Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code). The reason for the persecution was the lack of labeling on publications in his Telegram channel. Previously, the journalist was fined several times under an administrative article for violating the activities of a “foreign agent” (Article 19.34 of the Administrative Code).
In December 2023, Kamalyagin was put on the wanted list in a criminal case for repeated discrediting of the Russian army (Part 1 of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code). He was aroused because of a video on the YouTube channel of the “Pskov province” about a missile strike by the Russian military on a nine-story residential building in Uman on April 28, 2023
Kamalyagin is one of the first, among five individuals, to be recognized by the media as “foreign agents” in December 2020. The journalist was included in the register in connection with his collaboration with Radio Liberty. Kamalyagin left Russia back in March 2022. The next day, his house was searched in connection with the case of libel against the governor of the Pskov region, Mikhail Vedernikov.
- 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. 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). 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.”
- 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 800 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.