Week-ending 30 October 2020
Article 13.15 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences: ‘Abuse of freedom of mass information’ – the so-called ‘law on fake news.’ The law was used as a pretext for a search of journlist Yana Toporkova on 2 Ocober 2020 and the confiscation of her property which, as the Committee to Protect Journalists points out, has yet to be returned.
CPJ, Thursday, 29 October 2020: Russian authorities should immediately return equipment confiscated from journalist Yana Toporkova and ensure that members of the press are not harassed by law enforcement, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On October 2, three men in plainclothes who identified themselves as police officers raided Toporkova’s apartment in the southern village of Yablonovskiy, seized her laptop, phone, router, and notes, and detained her, according to news reports and the journalist, who spoke with CPJ in a phone interview. Following the raid, the officers drove Toporkova, a reporter who covers regional news for the independent news agency Region Online, to Cherkessk, a city more than 200 miles from Yablonovskiy, where they questioned her as a witness in an investigation into alleged false information published on Instagram by the independent Cherkessk-based news website Politika 09, according to the journalist and those reports. Toporkova told CPJ she had no connection to Politika 09. Russian authorities opened an investigation into the website in June for allegedly “disseminating false news” in its reports on the COVID-19 pandemic, as CPJ documented; the outlet denied those charges. Authorities allowed Toporkova to return home without charge on October 3, and as of today have not returned the equipment they confiscated, she said.
The Law can be read in Russian here. An unofficial translation follows:
Article 13.15 of the Russian Code of Administrative Offences: ‘Abuse of freedom of mass information’
- Production and/or distribution of television, video, film programmes, documentaries and feature films, as well as computer information files and information text processing programmes relating to special media containing hidden inserts that affect people’s subconscious and/or have a harmful effect on their health. – are punishable by an administrative fines on citizens ranging from 2,000 to 2,500 roubles with confiscation of the item used in the administrative offence; on officials – from 4,000 to 5,000 roubles with confiscation of the item used in the administrative offence; on legal entities – from 40,000 to 50,000 roubles with confiscation of the item used in the administrative offence.
2. Dissemination of information about a public association or other organisation included in the published list of public and religious associations, other organisations in respect of which the court made an effective decision on liquidation or prohibition of activities on the grounds provided by the Federal Law of 25 July 2002 N 114-FZ “On Combating Extremist Activities”, without indicating that the relevant public association or other organisation is liquidated or their activities are prohibited –
– are punishable by an administrative fine on citizens ranging from 2,000 to 2,500 hundred roubles with confiscation of the item used in the administrative offence; on officials – from 4,000 to 5,000 roubles with confiscation of the item used in the administrative offence; on legal entities – from 40,000 to 50,000 roubles with confiscation of the item used in the administrative offence.
3. Illegal distribution of the information about a minor who has suffered as a result of illegal actions (inaction), or infringement of requirements provided by federal laws to distribution of such information if these actions (inaction) do not contain criminally punishable act, – are punishable by an administrative fine on citizens ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 roubles; on officials – from 30,000 to 50,000 roubles; on legal entities- from 400,000 to 1m roubles with confiscation of the item used in the administrative offence.
4. Public dissemination of information expressing clear disrespect for the society about the days of military glory and memorable dates of Russia associated with the protection of the Fatherland, or public desecration of the symbols of military glory of Russia, including those committed with the use of mass media and (or) information and telecommunications networks (including the “Internet”) – is punishable by an administrative fine of between 400,000 and 1m roubles for legal entities.
5. Dissemination in the mass media as well as in information and telecommunication networks of information containing instructions on the improvised manufacture of explosives and explosive devices, if these actions do not contain indications of a criminal offence – is punishable by an administrative fine on citizens ranging from 4,000 to 5,000 roubles with confiscation of instruments of commission or an item used in the administrative offence; on officials – from forty thousand to fifty thousand roubles; on individual businessmen – from forty thousand to fifty thousand roubles with confiscation of instruments of commission or the item used in the administrative offence or administrative suspension of activity for a term of up to ninety days with confiscation of instruments of commission or the item used in the administrative offence; on businessmen – from 40,000 to 50,000 roubles with confiscation of instruments of commission or the item used in the administrative offence. for legal entities – from 800,000 to 1m roubles with confiscation of the instruments of commission or the item used in the administrative offence or administrative suspension of activity for up to ninety days with confiscation of the instruments of commission or the item used in the administrative offence.
6. Production or release of mass media products containing public calls for terrorist activities, materials publicly justifying terrorism or other materials calling for extremist activities or justifying or justifying the need for such activities, except as provided for in Articles 20.3, 20.3.1 and 20.29 of this Code – is punishable by an administrative fine on legal entities to the amount of 100,000 to 1m roubles with confiscation of the item used in the administrative offence.
- Use of mass media as well as information and telecommunication networks for the disclosure of information constituting a state or other secret specially protected by law – is punishable by the imposition of an administrative fine on legal entities to the amount of 400,000 to 1m roubles.
- Distribution in the mass media as well as in information and telecommunication networks of information containing proposals for the remote retail sale of alcoholic beverages and/or alcohol-containing food products and/or ethyl alcohol and/or alcohol-containing non-food products, the retail sale of which is restricted or prohibited by legislation on state regulation of production and turnover of ethyl alcohol, alcoholic beverages and alcohol-containing products and on restriction of consumption (drinking) of alcoholic beverages – is punishable by an administrative fine on citizens to an amount ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 roubles; on officials – from 20,000 to 40,000 roubles; on legal entities – from 100,000 to 300,000 roubles.
- Distribution in the mass media as well as in information and telecommunication networks of knowingly unreliable information of public importance under the guise of reliable reports, which created a threat of causing harm to the life and/or health of citizens, property, a threat of mass violation of public order and/or public safety or a threat of interfering with the functioning or cessation of functioning of life support facilities, transport or social infrastructure, credit institutions, the energy, industry, or telecommunications facilities, if these actions of a person distributing the information do not contain a criminally liable action – are punishable by an administrative fine on citizens ranging from 30,000 roubles to 100,000 roubles with or without confiscation of the item used in the administrative violation; for officials – from 60,000 roubles to 200,000 roubles; for legal entities – from 200,000 roubles to 500,000 roubles with or without confiscation of the item used in the admininstative offence.
10. Distribution in the mass media, as well as in information and telecommunication networks of knowingly unreliable information of public importance under the guise of reliable reports, causing interference with the functioning of life support facilities, transport or social infrastructure, credit institutions, energy, industry or communication facilities, if these actions of the person distributing the information do not contain a criminal offence, or are a repeated commission of an administrative offence, as provided for in Part 1 of this Article. – are punishable by an administrative fine on citizens ranging from 100,000 to 300,000 roubles with or without confiscation of the item used in the administrative offence; on officials – from 300,000 to 600,000 roubles; on legal bodies – from 500,000 to 1m roubles with or without confiscation of the item used in the administrative offence.
10.1. Distribution in the mass media as well as in information and telecommunication networks under the guise of reliable reports of knowingly inaccurate information on circumstances that pose a threat to the life and safety of citizens and/or on measures taken to ensure the safety of the population and territories, methods and means of protection against such circumstances – is punishable by an administrative fine on legal entities ranging from 1.5m to 3m roubles with or without confiscation of the item used in the administrative offence.
10.2. Distribution in the mass media as well as in information and telecommunication networks of knowingly inaccurate information of public importance under the guise of reliable reports causing death, harm to human health or property, mass violation of public order and/or public safety, termination of functioning of life support facilities, transport or social infrastructure, credit organisations, energy, industry or communication facilities – is punishable by an administrative fine on legal entities ranging from 3m to 5m roubles with or without confiscation of the item used in the administrative offence.
11. Repeated commission of an administrative offence under Paragraphs 10, 10.1 or 10.2 of this Article – is punishable by an administrative fine on citizens ranging from 300,000 to 400,000 roubles with or without confiscation of the item used in the administrative offence; on officials – from 600,000 to 900,000 roubles; on legal bodies – from 5m to 10m roubles with or without confiscation of the item used in the administrative offence.
