The Basmanny District Court of Moscow has arrested writer and journalist Mikhail Zygar in absentia in a case of disseminating "fakes" about the actions of Russian military personnel in Ukraine motivated by political hatred (clause "d" of Part 2 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). This was reported by Mediazona.
A week ago, journalists drew attention to the fact that Zygar was put on the wanted list, and in March, information appeared that a criminal case had been opened against the writer under the article on dissemination of military “fakes” motivated by political hatred (clause “d” of part 2 of article 207.3 of the Criminal Code).
This was reported by the pro-Kremlin RIA Novosti and Shot , as well as the Telegram channel ASTRA . The reason for the persecution was an Instagram post about the crimes of the Russian army in Bucha , which Zygar published on April 4, 2022.
In October 2022, Zygar was added to the register of "foreign agents". The Ministry of Justice cited "Carrying out political activity" as the basis, and indicated Ukraine as the source of funding for the journalist's activities. In 2022, the journalist left for Germany.
- Since February 24, 2022 — the first day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine — residents of Russian cities have been taking part in anti-war protests and talking about the tragedy online every day. Anti-war speeches and statements are becoming grounds for criminal prosecution. At the moment, more than 850 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protests against the war with Ukraine. Read more about this in our infographic .
- Article 207.3 (Public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation) was included in the Criminal Code in March 2022 — this is how the authorities 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. The maximum penalty under the article is 15 years in prison.