Law of the Week

Week-ending 16 July 2021

On 12 July 2021 prominent columnist from Ekaterinburg, Fedor Krasheninnikov, said he was in Vilnius and intended to remain there for the coming time. Krasheninnikov had fled Russia to Lithuania in August 2020 after he was fined and then jailed for seven days for ‘disrespecting authority’ in posts he had main online about the constitutional amendments introduced that year. The law on ‘disrespecting authority’ was adopted on 29 March 2019 in the form of amendments to Federal Law No. 149. At that time Galina Arapova, media lawyer and head of the Mass Media Defence Centre, wrote: ‘Amendments to the Federal Law of 27 July 2006 No. 149-FZ “On information, information technologies and the protection of information”, under which the publication of fake news and information showing “blatant disrespect for the authorities in an indecent form” can be blocked, entered into force at the end of March 2019. Penalties for these infringements in the form of large fines and even administrative detention for up to 15 days were added to the Code of Administrative Offences at the same time. The author of the law, member of parliament Andrei Klishas, believes that “these laws protect human rights”.  However, both experts and the public are already saying that these amendments constitute censorship, and rightly so.’

Sources:

The Moscow Times, 12 July 2021: Prominent Russian opposition-leaning columnist Fyodor Krasheninnikov has joined a growing list of activists and political figures to leave the country in recent months amid what Kremlin critics call an intensifying crackdown on dissent. Krasheninnikov fled Russia for neighboring Lithuania last August after being fined and then jailed for “disrespecting authorities” in his online posts criticizing the judicial system. He spent seven days under “administrative arrest” in July 2020 over his criticism of Russia’s constitutional changes that paved the way for President Vladimir Putin to stay in power until 2036.

RFE/RL, 13 July 2021: Fyodor Krasheninnikov, an outspoken Kremlin critic and noted political observer, says he has left Russia for Lithuania for the “foreseeable future” after coming under pressure from authorities for his work. Krasheninnikov wrote on Facebook on July 12 that he has been in Vilnius for some time but remains a Russian citizen, has not asked for political asylum, and “does not plan to do so.”

The Guardian, 6 March 2019: Russia’s parliament has approved a controversial law that allows courts to jail people for online “disrespect” of government or state officials, including the president, Vladimir Putin. The law, which critics say is reminiscent of Soviet-era legislation used to target political dissidents, stipulates fines of up to 100,000 roubles (£1,155) for “indecent” online posts that demonstrate a “blatant disrespect for society, the country, Russia’s official state symbols, the constitution, or the authorities”. Repeat offenders can be hit with fines of up to twice this sum, or 15 days behind bars. Alexander Verkhovsky, the head of the Moscow-based Sova Centre, which monitors abuse of anti-extremism legislation, said people could face prosecution for online comments such as “Putin is a bastard”, or jokes about parliament. Others expressed concern that the law was so vaguely worded that almost any online criticism of the authorities, including satirical memes, could be construed as “disrespect”.

EHRAC, 10 September 2019: By Galina Arapova, Head of the Mass Media Defence Centre, Media Lawyer and Member of EHRAC’s International Steering Committee. Amendments to the Federal Law of 27 July 2006 No. 149-FZ “On information, information technologies and the protection of information”, under which the publication of fake news and information showing “blatant disrespect for the authorities in an indecent form” can be blocked, entered into force at the end of March 2019. Penalties for these infringements in the form of large fines and even administrative detention for up to 15 days were added to the Code of Administrative Offences at the same time. The author of the law, member of parliament Andrei Klishas, believes that “these laws protect human rights”.  However, both experts and the public are already saying that these amendments constitute censorship, and rightly so.

EHRAC, 10 October 2019: By Roman Kiselyov, EHRAC Chevening Scholar. The recent article by Galina Arapova, Head of the Mass Media Defence Centre, summarises the newly introduced Russian law on fake news and disrespect for the authorities[1] and highlights its potential misuse to stifle legitimate public debate and criticism. The present article reviews three months of law-enforcement activities since the law was enacted on 29 March 2019. An analysis of this data confirms that human rights defenders’ fears about possible abuses of these laws have been borne out in practice.

In other news:

RFE/RL, 16 July 2021: A court in Russia-occupied Crimea has filed charges against an RFE/RL freelance correspondent in a process that has been decried by Kyiv, the United States, and press advocacy groups as a sham to crush dissent and information. A Simferopol court charged Vladyslav Yesypenko, who has been in detention since March, with possession and transport of explosives. Yesypenko, who pleaded not guilty, could face up to 18 years in prison. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) detained Yesypenko, a dual Russian-Ukrainian citizen who contributes to Crimea.Realities, a regional news outlet of RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, on suspicion of collecting information for Ukrainian intelligence.