A taxi driver from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky was fined for the fourth time for “discrediting” the Russian army. SibRealii

He was fined 30.000 rubles for a message in the WhatsApp group “Political Discussions” in which he criticized the war against Ukraine.

"The information posted by citizen M. expresses a negative attitude towards the military personnel of the Russian Federation and the conduct of a special military operation; it is aimed at discrediting, that is, denigrating, deliberately undermining the authority of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, distorting the goals and objectives assigned to them outside the Russian Federation Federation," reads the message on the court's website.

The accused refused to admit guilt, but explained to the court that he remained unconvinced. He also pledged not to commit such actions in the future.

According to the information published by the court, 61-year-old M. had already been charged three times under administrative law for a similar “offence.” The amount of fines he paid in the past amounted to 90.000 rubles.

From March 2022, when the “discredit” law was adopted, to October 2023, Russian courts received 8.055 administrative cases under this article; Russians were fined almost 194 million rubles under it.

In administrative cases about anti-war statements, posts and statuses on WhatsApp began to appear more and more often. As of July 2023, at least 184 cases of “discrediting” the army mention this messenger.

As a rule, after the third resolution on administrative punishment under the article on “discrimination” comes into force, a criminal case may be initiated for repeated “discredit” of the army.

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