Press Release, 13.01.2023

Photo: Mikhail Afanasyev  / Photo by the Yabloko Press Service

The Abakan City Court extended the detention of Mikhail Afanasyev, editor of the Novy Focus online media and member of the Yabloko party, for two more months due to the fact that the Investigative Committee could not prove his guilt. This was reported in the Telegram channel of the lawyer and human rights activist Pavel Chikov.

The term of Mikhail Afanasyev’s detention would have expired on 16 January. It have been repeatedly extended by the City Court of Abakan due to the fact that the charges were drawn up with errors. The judge dismissed the two public prosecutors’ objections in support of the public prosecution. The investigation cannot prove that Afanasyev disseminated false information about the armed forces of the Russian Federation.

It should be noted that Mikhail Afanasyev, a laureate of the Andrei Sakharov Prize “For Journalism as an Act”, is charged with disseminating false information about the armed forces of the Russian Federation using his official position (“fakes about the army” – Article 207.3 Clause “a” Part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The law enforcement started investigation because of a publication on the website of the Novy Focus media which ran that 11 riot police from Khakassia refused to participate in the so-called “special operation” on the territory of Ukraine.

Giving the grounds for extending the term under custody for Afanasyev, the investigator stated that he was waiting for a response from the Directorate of the Federal Security Service in Khakassia, confirming that the riot police (Afanasyev wrote about) belong to the armed forces of the Russian Federation and, thus could fell under “discrediting the army”.

The position of the defence in the case is that in the period from 4 March to 5 April, criminal liability for the dissemination of false information extended only to the armed forces of the Russian Federation. In accordance with the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of 5 April, 2016, mobile special forces belong to the National Guard, and their employees are not military personnel. The publication about the Khakassia riot police appeared on the website of Novy Focus on 13 April. Later, Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation was amended, extending to other state bodies of the Russian Federation exercising their powers outside the state, including riot police.

For nine months, the investigation has been trying to find a way to justify why the riot police could be regarded as Russian army servicemen. If the public prosecutors manages to prove this, Mikhail Afanasyev faces up to ten years in prison.

It should be noted that earlier Mikhail Afanasyev, the founder of the Novy Focus media, was fined 450,000 roubles under Article 20.3.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (“incitement of hatred”) for “extremist” publications about the abuses in the security forces. An appeal against the verdict was filed, but the date of consideration has not been appointed yet.

Yabloko announced a fundraising campaign for Mikhail Afanasyev and his family, as the journalist has five minor children, cannot work being in custody and has to pay a large fine.

Read more about the persecution of Yabloko members after the start of the “special operation”.