Journalists settle scores with the police. An independent publication in Yekaterinburg has paid all its fines for discrediting the army, thanks to its readers.
Online publication "Evening News" extinguished arrears on all their fines totaling one million rubles. To raise the final tranche of 550, the journalists even had to arrange auction for the sale of memorabilia.
- We have closed all the fines, — the director of Vecherniye Vedomosti told NeMoskva Guzel Aitkulova.
According to her, the editorial board will inform the Federal Bailiff Service about this in the near future to avoid a repeat of last year's incident: that time, the bank blocked the editor-in-chief's accounts. Vladislav Postnikova, despite the fact that he personally submitted to the court a payment notice for the fine for discrediting the army.
— The defamation article has become a common way of settling scores., Aitkulova reasons. "And it doesn't matter what the report says or that the statute of limitations has expired. Judges in Yekaterinburg will still "bully" any police report. I'm absolutely certain that judges don't even read any materials related to the defamation charge: if their goal is to fine, that's what they'll do."
Over the past year, the online publication "Evening News" fined several times for publishing news about anti-war protests. Editorial evaluates It's like revenge for investigative journalism against corrupt police officers.
“We believe that this persecution is not even for a political position, but purely for professional activity: write something bad about the police – get a fine, — notes Guzel Aitkulova. "By the way, one of the police generals we investigated has resigned from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. We will continue to cover important topics, including reporting on inaction and various corruption cases within the Ministry of Internal Affairs."
Photo: Evening News