The chief executive of “Pskov province” became a suspect in a criminal case

The editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Pskovskaya guberniya” Denys Kamalagin became a suspect in a criminal case based on an article about repeated discrediting of the Russian army. He has been summoned for questioning, according to the website of the publication.

Kamalagin is one of the first three journalists in Russia included by the Ministry of Justice in the list of so-called foreign media agents. He was fined four times for violating Russian legislation on agents. Last year, an administrative protocol on the discrediting of the army was drawn up on him, the editorial office of Sever.Realii reminds.

Legislation on the discrediting of the Russian army and the dissemination of false information about the actions of the Russian military was adopted by deputies of the State Duma and signed by President Vladimir Putin immediately after Russia’s February invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Russian courts recognize as fakes and discredit any messages that contradict the Kremlin’s interpretation of events in Ukraine. In many cases, citizens were punished even for the very mention of war, Moscow calls it a “special military operation”, insisting on the limited nature of the hostilities.

Kamalagin is not in Russia now. In a comment on the “Pskov Governorate” website, he said that he considers the initiation of a criminal case “a tribute to the attention of the investigative bodies of the publication.” The maximum punishment under the article on discrediting is seven years of imprisonment.