Russian journalist fined for reposts about Bucha massacre in unusually lenient ruling

A court in the city of Khabarovsk, in Russia’s Far East, has fined a journalist 700,000 rubles (€7,700) for “spreading false information” about the Russian army for reposting articles about the Bucha massacre in the early days of the war, state-affiliated business daily Kommersant reported on Wednesday.

Despite prosecutors requesting a custodial sentence of 6 years, Sergey Mingazov, 56, was only fined and banned from leaving the country until the sentence comes into force on Wednesday, with his house arrest lifted. Mingazov now has 60 days to pay the fine.

According to the prosecution, Mingazov reposted reports of crimes committed by the Russian army in the Kyiv region town of Bucha in March 2022 to his Telegram channel. Mingazov, who partially admitted his guilt and said he regretted his actions, which he called “a mistake”, requested the court give him a non-custodial sentence, according to Kommersant.

Over 1,400 people died in Bucha during the 33 days the town was under Russian occupation in early 2022. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, among the dead were 175 people found in mass graves and torture chambers.

Mingazov, who has in the past worked for Forbes Russia, business daily Vedomosti and Kommersant, was detained in Khabarovsk in April and has been under house arrest ever since.