On May 30, the Leninsky District Court of Cheboksary (Chuvashia) received a case under the article on repeated discrediting of the army (Part 1 of Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code) against Alexander Pavlov. The corresponding card appeared on the court's website.
It is still unknown what was the reason for initiating the criminal case. The article imputed to Pavlov suggests that he was previously fined under an administrative article on discrediting the army (Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses) and at the time of discovery of a new similar violation, one year had not passed since the payment of the fine.
According to the court, in April 2022, a man with that name, a laborer, was fined 30 thousand rubles under the article on discrediting the army. The reason for initiating the case was a picket, during which the 60-year-old man hung posters on the walls of an underground passage on Ivan Yakovlev Avenue, the press service of the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs wrote . The protocol on Pavlov was drawn up at Police Department No. 6. In court, the Cheboksary resident said that "he has his own vision of what is happening" - changes are needed in Russia, including a change in the course of development of society from capitalism to socialism. Pavlov's picket was provoked by the situation in the country and the increase in the retirement age, he was "fed up", but he did not think that by doing so he would discredit the armed forces. The Telegram channel "Angry Chuvashia" wrote that the police seized several homemade collages from his apartment, including some not related to the army.
Several posters in an underground passage in 2022 / Photo: Telegram channel "Angry Chuvashia"
In January 2021, Pavlov was also given a warning for picketing in an underground passage under the article on violating the high alert regime during the coronavirus period (Article 20.6.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses).
Under Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code, the activist could face a sentence of up to five years in prison.
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- 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 900 people have become defendants in criminal cases initiated due to protests 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 — this is how 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.