The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a criminal case against journalist Alexander Nevzorov on the public dissemination of fakes about the actions of the Russian Armed Forces as part of a special operation to protect Donbass (part 2 of article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). It was announced on March 22 press office departments.
According to the Investigative Committee, on March 9, Nevzorov published on his Instagram page (owned by the Meta organization recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation) and on his YouTube channel on March 19 “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 sources of distribution of these images are the Ukrainian media,” the agency explains. The Investigative Committee also noted that the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation officially announced the unreliability of the mentioned information, which was distributed on the Internet.
At the moment, the whereabouts of Nevzorov are being established for conducting investigative and procedural actions.
On March 4, 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 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 convict’s income for a period of up to 18 months. There is also a penalty of up to three years in prison. In the event that knowingly 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.
Already on February 26, the RF Ministry of Defense announced that as the Russian troops successfully completed the rescue operation in the Donbass, the Internet was filled with numerous fakes and calls for violence against the military personnel and citizens of the Russian Federation.
In mid-February, due to the aggravation of the situation in the Donbass as a result of shelling by the Ukrainian military, the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics asked for recognition of their independence and announced the evacuation of the civilian population to Russia.
On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a corresponding decree. On February 24, Russia launched a special operation to protect the civilian population of Donbass. As the press secretary of the head of state Dmitry Peskov clarified, the special operation has two goals – the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
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