A Kamchatka deputy fined for reposting a video was warned of an ethics violation.

Kamchatka deputies warned their colleague Alexander Novikov "The inadmissibility of violating parliamentary ethics rules." The warning was prompted by a letter from the Kamchatka Krai Prosecutor. Dmitry Rychagova, which stated that on February 1, the court found Novikova guilty of “discrediting the Russian armed forces.”

The charges stemmed from a repost from the Telegram channel "Ostorozhno, Novosti" of a video featuring a "Kamchatka battalion fighter" who described the unit's dire situation. A special linguistic examination and the court ruled that the video "discredited the army." Novikova was then fined 30 rubles.

"A public expression by a member of a regional representative body of beliefs directly contrary to state policy provides grounds for assessing such actions for compliance with parliamentary ethics," the letter states. The warning was issued by Pavel Saidachakov, chair of the Committee on Rules and Ethics, and was fully supported by the other deputies.

It should be added that the article on parliamentary ethics published on the website of the Legislative Assembly of Kamchatka Krai makes no mention of "discrediting Russian troops." It merely states that "deputies have no right to use rude or offensive language in their speech that damages the honor and dignity of members of the Legislative Assembly and other individuals, to make unfounded accusations against anyone, to use knowingly false information, or to call for illegal actions."

Photo: Legislative Assembly of Kamchatka Krai