The Savelovsky District Court of Moscow has registered a case under the article on cooperation with an "undesirable" organization (Part 1 of Article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offenses) against film critic Anton Dolin. Mediazona drew attention to the case file.
Anton Dolin writes reviews for the publication Meduza, which was declared an “undesirable” organization in January 2023.
In May, it became known that similar reports had been drawn up against Meduza publisher Galina Timchenko , special correspondent Svetlana Reiter , and journalist Asya Zolnikova .
- Since 2015, according to Russian law , foreign or international organizations that, in the opinion of the authorities, pose a “threat to the foundations of the constitutional order of the Russian Federation, the country’s defense capability, or state security” can be recognized as “undesirable.” Such organizations are prohibited from operating in the country, and a number of other restrictions are imposed on them — for example, they are not allowed to distribute information materials in Russia. The decision to recognize is made by the Prosecutor General’s Office in agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. More information about which organizations have been added to the list can be found in the OVD-Info project “ Inoteka .”
Participation in the activities of an "undesirable organization" is subject to administrative liability (Article 20.33 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, the maximum penalty is a fine of up to 15 thousand rubles for citizens), and in case of repeated participation, criminal liability (Part 1 of Article 284.1 of the Criminal Code, the maximum penalty is imprisonment for up to four years). Article 284.1 is also applied for financing or organizing the activities of an "undesirable organization", in which case the punishment may be up to five and up to six years of imprisonment, respectively.