The case against journalist Masha Gessen for spreading “fake stories” about the Russian army based on political hatred (clause “d”, part 2 of article 207.3 of the Criminal Code) was received on April 25 by the Basmanny District Court of Moscow. OVD-Info found information about this on the court’s website.
The initiation of the case became known in November 2023. The reason for this was Gessen’s interview with Yuri Dudu. Journalists talked, among other things, about war crimes by the Russian army in Bucha. According to Dozhd, the case was opened on August 29. The interview itself was published in September 2022.
In December 2023, Gessen was put on the international wanted list and arrested in absentia. The journalist noted that being arrested in absentia and being placed on the international wanted list could create difficulties for them in moving around the world. “Recently, a person was kidnapped in Armenia; they are extraditing him from some countries; I think they simply won’t let him into Georgia,” they commented on Dozhd.
Masha Gessen is a journalist and writer, ex-director of the Russian service of Radio Liberty, former deputy editor-in-chief of Snob. In 2017, their book “The Future is History. How Totalitarianism Conquered Russia Again" received the National Book Award. Gessen lives in the USA.
- 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 900 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protest 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 - in this way 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 this article is 15 years in prison.