Three new cases were opened against Nizhny Tagil resident Dmitry Cherepkov under the article on repeated discrediting of the Russian army (Part 1 of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by lawyer Roman Kachanov, who defends the man in cooperation with OVD-Info.
Currently, five criminal cases have been opened against Cherepkov under this article. He is under recognizance not to leave the place. The reason for new cases were comments on VKontakte.
The first case against Cherepkov became known in July 2023. Then he was also charged with commenting on VKontakte. In one of the pro-war groups on a social network, a man called the Russian army occupiers and said that not all Ukrainian military personnel are “Banderites.” In February 2024, this case came to court.
Two more cases were opened in March 2024. The reason for them was comments on the same social network. In one of his publications, Cherepkov wrote that Russia “is at war with the Ukrainian army, seizing territories, cutting off people from the Ukrainian economy.” In another, that, according to Cherepkov, “Krasnodar, Voronezh and other Russian cities are being shelled by the Russian military to create a negative attitude towards the Ukrainian army.” Later these cases were combined into one proceeding.
A case under the article on repeated discrediting of the army can be opened if a person already has at least one court decision that has entered into force under a similar administrative article (Article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Code) within a year. Thus, in April 2023, Cherepkov was fined 35 thousand rubles due to comments on VKontakte criticizing the authorities.
- At the moment, more than 850 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.