A Yekaterinburg court fined Vecherniye Vedomosti for the third time for "discrediting the army."
The publication was fined 245 rubles for articles about anti-war protests. These were published before the law on liability for discrediting the Russian Armed Forces and for counterfeiting information about the military came into force. Furthermore, Judge Alexander Nikiforov prohibited filming the announcement of his decision without explanation.
"Today, the court held Vecherniye Vedomosti accountable for 15 publications on the protests that began on February 24, 2022. The publications contained no opinions, no calls from the editorial staff themselves. They merely reported that people had come out to the square and were chanting. Despite this, it is the media outlet itself that is being accused of defamation. Neither the police nor the court are making a distinction. Today, the publication was fined 250 rubles out of the maximum 245 rubles. We will receive the decision tomorrow, read it, and will likely appeal it," commented court decision lawyer Georgy Krasnov.
Let us add that in 2022, Vecherniye Vedomosti, based on the reports drawn up by Yekaterinburg police officers, fined In total, 450 thousand rubles in fines were collected thanks to the publication's readers.
Photo: Evening News