A case of “fakes” about the Russian army was opened against Leonid Gozman

A criminal case was opened against the opposition politician Leonid Gozman on the article about spreading so-called fakes about the Russian army. This is reported by TASS with reference to sources in law enforcement agencies.

The reason for the case, according to the interlocutors of the agency, was “Gozman’s posting on Facebook and the Telegram channel of distorted statements about the leadership of the Russian Federation and the Armed Forces of Russia during a special military operation” (this is how the Russian authorities call the war in Ukraine).

TASS sources in the law enforcement agencies reported that the materials published by Gozman underwent a psychological-linguistic study, during which it was proven that the information about the “special military operation” was intentionally distorted.

The article on the spread of “fakes” about the Russian army provides for a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

After the armed invasion of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine, Gozman publicly spoke out against the war several times.

• Leonid Gozman is a public and political figure. In the 1990s, he was an adviser to Yegor Gaidar, participated in the “Democratic Election of Russia” movement. He spoke out against Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and against Russia’s war with Ukraine. After the start of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, Gozman left Russia. In May, he returned, explaining it as a “moral choice.” On May 6, 2022, he was included in the list of “foreign agents” by the Ministry of Justice. Later, a criminal case was filed against Gozman and his wife for failure to notify of dual citizenship, and then they were twice sent under administrative arrest for posts on social networks written several years ago. Having been released after 30 days of arrest, Gozman left Russia.
• Articles about so-called fakes and the discrediting of the army appeared in the codes of Russia shortly after its invasion of Ukraine. Russian courts recognize as discrediting the message about the war in Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special operation”, and any information different from the version of the Ministry of Defense of Russia is fake.
• According to the estimates of the “OVD-Info” project, more than 160 criminal cases have been initiated on the article about the spread of “fakes” about the Russian army.