The Moscow City Court on Wednesday banned the Union of Journalists of Russia, an organization notable for its support of “media” and accused of spreading false information about the Russian military campaign in Ukraine.
The Court has thus complied with a request from the Moscow public prosecutor’s office, according to the daily newspaper Kommersant.
The prosecutor’s office justified the request after an audit that revealed alleged “serious and irreparable” violations by the union organization.
Notably, it indicated that its members have made no contributions since 2019.
The prosecution also indicated that some union members appeared in court for administrative reasons and after participating in unauthorized demonstrations, including the appeal in support of Russian journalist Ivan Safronov, sentenced to prison for “high treason”.
The union was also linked with raising funds to support media labeled as “foreign agents” in Russia and the systematic publication of “false information”.
Lawyer Machim Krupski, a defender of the organization, insisted the prosecutor’s request was illegal and unwarranted, and said it would appeal the decision.
Earlier, the Tagansky Court in Moscow had fined 500,000 rubles (8,300 euros), the maximum that applies under the standard punishing the spread of “fake news” about the Russian military campaign in Ukraine.
The military offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine on Feb. 24 has already resulted in more than 13 million people having fled — more than six million internally displaced persons and more than seven million to neighboring countries — according to the latest UN data, which ranks this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since World War II (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the generality of the international community, which has responded by sending arms to Ukraine and Russia of political and economic sanctions.
The UN has confirmed more than 5,800 dead civilians and about 8,400 injured since the start of the war, stressing that these numbers are far below the actual number.
Source: DN
