The editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, Sergei Sokolov, was fined 30 thousand rubles in an administrative case for “discrediting” the army.

The Perovsky District Court of Moscow fined the editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, Sergei Sokolov, 30 thousand rubles under the administrative article on “discrediting” the Russian army (Part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code) because of the publication’s material published in the telegram channel.

At the hearing, judge Olga Ashurova denied Sokolov’s defense to satisfy all requests. The defenders asked to postpone the hearing, to subpoena the former editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Dmitry Muratov, and to order a comprehensive psychological and linguistic examination of the material, which was found to “discredit” Russian troops.

In the morning, employees of Center “E” took Sokolov to the police department to draw up an administrative protocol under the article on “discrediting” the army.

The protocol stated that Sokolov, as editor-in-chief, posted material in December on the telegram channel of Novaya Gazeta in which the examination found “linguistic and psychological signs of verbal discrediting the actions of power structures.”

The telegram channel of the Moscow courts clarifies that we are talking about material called “Nobody's Boys,” published in December 2023. It tells how orphans are convinced to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense and go to war.

The examination, according to Novaya Gazeta, was carried out by the Main Radio Frequency Center (FSUE GRChTs) - a structure controlled by Roskomnadzor.

• Sergei Sokolov became editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta in September 2023 after the temporary resignation from this post of Nobel laureate Dmitry Muratov, whom the Russian Ministry of Justice declared a “foreign agent.”
• On March 28, 2022, Novaya Gazeta suspended publication after receiving two warnings from Roskomnadzor about mentioning a “foreign agent” without appropriate labeling. In July, the editors launched the magazine “New Story-Newspaper”, but a week later its website was blocked at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
• At the beginning of September 2022, the Basmanny District Court of Moscow, at the request of Roskomnadzor, revoked the registration of the printed version from Novaya Gazeta, and at the end of the month, the Supreme Court (also at the request of Roskomnadzor) revoked the electronic media license of the Novaya Gazeta website.