A resident of Krasnodar was fined 258 thousand for publications in Max
In the comments that Krasnodar resident Maxim Popov left in the Max messenger public group, law enforcement identified nine offenses, including disrespect for authority and discrediting the military.
The responsibility for discrediting the armed forces was introduced on March 4, 2022, since then residents of Russia, including those from the North Caucasus and Southern Federal District, have been prosecuted under the relevant article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Offenses Code of the Russian Federation. It provides for fines for citizens ranging from 30 thousand to 100 thousand rubles, and repeated violations within a year threaten criminal prosecution.
The Lenin District Court of Krasnodar considered nine administrative cases against local resident Maxim Popov in one day. The court's rulings were noted by “Mediazona”*.
The reason was Popov's publications in the “Uncle Max News” public group: the court found that they “express clear disrespect for society, the state, official state symbols, and state authorities.” Four protocols were drawn up under the article on disrespect for the state (part 3 of article 20.1 of the Administrative Offenses Code), and for each of these cases, the court fined the Krasnodar resident 50 thousand rubles. What exactly Popov published is not specified in the rulings. However, it is known from the documents that in court the man admitted his guilt and expressed remorse.
Another four protocols were drawn up under the article on demonstrating extremist symbols (part 1 of article 20.3 of the Administrative Offenses Code), for each of which the court imposed a fine of two thousand rubles on Popov. The reason for these was images of Celtic crosses in the comments of the same public group.
Another protocol was drawn up under the article on discrediting the army (part 1 of article 20.3.3 of the Administrative Offenses Code), for which Popov was fined an additional 50 thousand rubles. The content of the comment that formed the basis of this case is also not disclosed. The total amount of fines amounted to 258 thousand rubles.
“Caucasian Knot” also reported that the Abinsky District Court of Krasnodar Krai imposed a fine of one thousand rubles on local resident Ivan Kazhan for demonstrating extremist symbols. This case became the first known punishment in Russia for content in the state messenger Max.