Since the end of the summer, the number of “foreign agents” who received two fines has increased sharply

At the end of the summer of 2023, Roskomnadzor and the Ministry of Justice of Russia began a campaign for the mass drafting of protocols for repeated violations of the law on “foreign agents”. Mediazona drew attention to this.

The third protocol against one and the same person within one year allows a criminal case to be instituted under the article on evasion of the duties of an “innocent agent”. It can lead to up to two years of imprisonment.

“Mediazona” studied all the data published by the courts and calculated that in September there were slightly more than 20 “foreign agents” with two fines. By November, their number had grown exponentially, and already 57 people are on the verge of a criminal case, the publication writes.

The absence of “foreign agent” marking was the most frequent reason for administrative cases. However, in July 2023, the Ministry of Justice actively joined the drafting of protocols (previously only Roskomnadzor was engaged in this), and the number of cases increased. Officials are looking not only for posts without a die, but also for violations in reporting.

By itself, the number of new protocols may look ordinary, because the number of “foreign agents” is growing, Mediazona notes. On average, 15-20 new “foreign agents” appear in Russia per month, and by the beginning of December 2023, there were already 367 individuals on the list of the Ministry of Justice.

However, since the end of the summer, the authorities have focused on repeated fines for those who have already been charged under an administrative article. When two court decisions on a fine enter into force within one year, the third protocol, if the authorities wish, can turn into a criminal case and imprisonment for up to two years. According to the data from the courts, the execution of repeated protocols is extremely fast, according to the study of “Mediazony”.

• Legislation on “foreign agents” in Russia appeared in 2012. The law allowed the Ministry of Justice to recognize non-profit organizations as “foreign agents” if they receive funding from abroad and engage in political activity. The criteria by which such activity is determined are not clearly defined in the law, which allows the authorities to pursue organizations working in the fields of education, culture, health care, ecology, and protection of human rights.
• Subsequently, it became possible to recognize mass media and individuals as “foreign agents”, including those who do not receive foreign funding, but “are under foreign influence”. Russian legislation does not specify what exactly should be considered foreign influence.