The Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case under the article on the dissemination of false information about the actions of the RF Armed Forces against journalist Alexander Nevzorov. The department announced this on Tuesday, March 22.
“The Main Investigation Department of the Russian Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case against journalist Alexander Nevzorov. In his actions, there are signs of a crime under paragraph “d” part 2 of Art. 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Public dissemination under the guise of reliable messages of knowingly false information about the actions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation”),” the message says.
According to the investigation, on March 9, Nevzorov published on his Instagram page (owned by the Meta organization recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation) and on March 19 on his YouTube channel “deliberately false information about the deliberate shelling of the maternity hospital in the city of Mariupol by the Russian Armed Forces.”
“Publications were accompanied by unreliable photographs of civilians who suffered from the shelling. The Ukrainian media are the sources for the distribution of these images,” the Investigative Committee noted.
The report notes that the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation officially announced the falsity of the specified information.
Now the location of the journalist is being established for conducting investigative and procedural actions.
Earlier that day, a court in Moscow arrested Sergey Klokov, a defendant in a criminal case, for disseminating knowingly false information about the actions of the Russian Armed Forces. According to the representative of the defense, this is the first and so far the only arrest under the relevant article in the capital. The man will remain in custody until May 16. It is known about him that before his arrest, he worked as a technician at the reserve control center of the capital’s main department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In early March, the State Duma adopted in the third reading amendments to the Russian Criminal Code on punishment for fakes, discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and calls for sanctions. According to the adopted document, liability for the public dissemination of deliberately false information about the Russian army involves a fine in the amount of 700 thousand to 1.5 million rubles, or in the amount of the income of the convict for a period of up to 18 months. It also provides for a penalty of up to three years in prison. In the event that deliberately false information entailed grave consequences, a punishment of 10 to 15 years in prison is provided.
On March 4, the Federation Council approved the law at a plenary session. On the same day, the law was signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As previously emphasized in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, as the Russian troops successfully carried out the rescue operation in the Donbass, the Internet was filled with numerous fakes and calls for violence against military personnel and citizens of the Russian Federation.
The situation in Donbass escalated significantly in mid-February due to shelling by the Ukrainian military. The authorities of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics announced the evacuation of residents to the Russian Federation, and also turned to Moscow for help. On February 21, Putin signed a decree recognizing the independence of the DPR and LPR, as well as treaties of friendship and mutual assistance.
Russia launched an operation to protect the civilian population of Donbass on February 24. Moscow emphasized that it does not hatch plans for the occupation of Ukraine, and strikes are carried out only on the military infrastructure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
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