The trade union of journalists was given a deadline – Newspaper Kommersant No. 140 (7341) of 08/04/2022

The Tagansky Court of Moscow on Wednesday fined the Trade Union of Journalists and Media Workers 500,000 rubles. for “discrediting” the Russian army. Experts note that this is the first such a large fine imposed on a legal entity for the first violation of Art. 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. On the same day, the Moscow City Court planned to decide on the liquidation of the trade union, but at the request of the prosecutor’s office, the meeting was postponed to September.

The decision of the Tagansky Court of Moscow (available to Kommersant) states that two publications were posted on the trade union website “in order to replicate and disseminate ideas related to a negative attitude towards the special operation conducted by the Russian Federation in Ukraine.” The first material was called “Perugia Declaration in Support of Ukraine” (a statement by the participants of the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy), the second – “We demand to stop the war.” Excerpts from the texts were provided to the court by the Moscow prosecutor’s office.

The publications speak, in particular, about “the need to stop the torture and murder of journalists” and “Russia’s attack on the freedom of the press.” The authors also “express solidarity with independent media.”

As a result, the court fined the union for 500 thousand rubles.

“The fine is clearly disproportionate, since the trade union is brought to administrative responsibility for the first time,” Maxim Krupsky, the organization’s lawyer, told Kommersant. He intends to appeal the court’s decision and point out that the union was held accountable “for exercising its constitutional right to freedom of speech.” It is guaranteed by Art. 29 of the Constitution, the lawyer recalled, “and by its decision the court actually canceled this norm.” Mr. Krupsky recalled that the legislation of the Russian Federation does not stipulate the obligation of citizens and organizations to hold an exclusively positive opinion regarding the special operation.

This is the first such a large fine under Art. 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, Dmitry Piskunov, a lawyer for the human rights project OVD-Info (included in the register of foreign agents), told Kommersant. Recall that the article on “discrediting” provides for fines from 300 thousand to 500 thousand rubles for legal entities. and from 500 thousand to 1 million rubles if the “discredit” entailed “a threat of harm to the life and (or) health of citizens, property.” According to Mr. Piskunov, one fine of 300 thousand rubles. was previously assigned by the Saratov court to the Center for Social and Legal Environmental Initiatives, three more for 300 thousand rubles. the court of Gorno-Altaisk appointed the Listok publishing house (according to Interfax, one fine related to the violation of Article 20.3.4 of the Code of Administrative Offenses – calls for sanctions against the Russian Federation).

In May, the Moscow prosecutor’s office began an unscheduled inspection of the union. To do this, she demanded to provide the charter, the schedule of meetings and congresses of the members of the organization, information on sources of funding and holding relevant events. Whether the check has been completed is still unclear, but already on June 10, the agency filed a lawsuit with the Moscow City Court to liquidate the trade union. On July 4, the court suspended the activities of the organization until the issue of liquidation is resolved. In the decision to suspend the Moscow City Court with reference to the prosecutor’s office informedthat administrative proceedings have been initiated against the trade union. It was then that it became known about the administrative case for “discrediting” the Russian army. As of August 3, the Prosecutor General’s Office did not respond to a corresponding request from Kommersant dated July 12.

Center for the Protection of Media Rights (included in the register of foreign agents) in July with reference to case materials informedthat the prosecutor’s office demands the liquidation of the trade union on six grounds. The agency points to the placement on the network of a number of “publications containing signs of discredit” and “false socially significant information about the special operation.” In the same place, according to the center, it is said about “support for journalists Ivan Safronov and Svetlana Prokopieva.” Recall, the first two years are held in Lefortovo on charges of treason; the second is the head of the Pskov regional branch of the trade union, recognized guilty of justifying terrorism and later left the Russian Federation. Other claims concern the collection of money for Meduza and OVD-Info recognized as foreign agents, as well as the payment of fines to trade union members “for participation in unapproved public events.” In addition, the prosecutor’s office stated that the charter of the organization does not comply with relevant legislation.

The co-chair of the organization Sofya Rusova, in an interview with Kommersant, linked the pressure on the trade union with a campaign against legislation on foreign agents, lawsuits against the Moscow mayor’s office due to refusals to coordinate the relevant rallies, as well as protection of the media covering rallies in support of politician Alexei Navalny. To this, Pavel Gusev, head of the Moscow Union of Journalists and head of the HRC commission on journalists’ rights, told Kommersant that “in this case, only the name comes from the trade union.”

“The guys spoke in defense of certain journalists, this was their main activity. They have nothing to do with the trade union,” Mr. Gusev explained earlier.

The Moscow City Court planned to consider the claim for the liquidation of the trade union on Wednesday afternoon, but postponed the meeting to September 14. Lawyer Maxim Krupsky explained to Kommersant that the postponement was due to the “request of the prosecutor’s office” to give the department time to familiarize itself with the position of the defense. Mr. Krupsky chose not to disclose the arguments of the trade union itself until the next meeting in September.

Maria Starikova