The Kotlas City Court fined municipal deputy Anatoly Arseev 30 thousand rubles under the article about discrediting the military. Arseev himself reported having written not about the military, but about Russia's leadership. The fine was reported by 29.RU, a regional media outlet.
The deputy said that the court had taken into account the comments he had left even before the introduction of the article for discrediting the Russian Armed Forces. According to him, he tried to write other messages in compliance with the new legislation.
Anatoly Arseev said that law enforcement officers has ordered his posts’ examination. He read the expert's conclusions and said that he did not agree with them. The deputy is going to appeal the court's decision.
After the military special operation started in Ukraine, regional deputies spoke out against the hostilities. The Just Russia — For Truth Party's federal and regional councils expelled the Ivanovo Regional Duma’s deputy Sergei Shestukhin from the party. The reason was "actions that harm the political interests of the party and discredit it." Shestukhin disapproved of the hostilities in Ukraine in social networks.
Nikolai Kuzmin, Pskov deputy from the Yabloko Party, was fined 30 thousand rubles for reposting Marina Ovsyannikova's appeal. The court found him guilty of discrediting the Russian Armed Forces.