Bastrykin announced the initiation of more than 150 cases of fakes about the army

The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has already opened more than 150 cases of fakes about the Russian army, 136 citizens have become defendants in the cases. About it informed In an interview with TASS, Chairman of the RF IC Alexander Bastrykin.

“Based on these facts, 152 criminal cases were initiated, in which 136 persons were prosecuted. 53 criminal cases have been submitted to the court, 16 sentences have already been passed,” he said.

Bastrykin pointed to the “severity” of the punishment, at the same time he considered the amendments to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation justified. According to him, fakes about the army can harm “not only specific citizens, but also the interests of the state, public security.”

Russia’s special operation in Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. In March, the State Duma added several new articles to the Criminal Code and the Code of Administrative Offenses. According to Art. 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation), the violator faces a fine of up to 100,000 rubles. Repeated violation entails criminal liability (up to 5 years in prison). The maximum penalty for violation of Art. 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fakes about the army) is 15 years in prison.

In particular, in December last year, in the case of fakes, Ilya Yashin, a former municipal deputy of the Krasnoselsky district of Moscow (recognized as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation), was sentenced to 8 years and 6 months in a colony. The court also sentenced him in absentia to 8 and 9 years in prison. journalist Alexandra Nevzorova and blogger Nika Belotserkovskaya (both are recognized as foreign agents in the Russian Federation), respectively.

February 16 Roskomnadzor informedthat since the beginning of the special operation, 16 protocols have been drawn up against editors-in-chief or editorial offices of the media for disseminating false information about the course of hostilities in Ukraine under Art. 13.15 Administrative Code of the Russian Federation.

Also at the end of January, the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation Igor Krasnov declared about the identified 187 facts of the spread of fakes about the army. According to him, criminal cases on 78 crimes were initiated against 67 people, they have already been sent to court, and some of them have been investigated.