War in Ukraine (12 March): Un(der)reported news from Novaya Gazeta, Nobel Peace Prize 2021
HRWF (12.03.2022) – Novaya Gazeta is one of the last media outlets in Russia which has still not been prosecuted or banned for using its freedom of speech but when reading their articles we must keep in mind that the editorial board has to deploy a lot of ingenuity to cover sensitive issues and denounce abuses.
Law criminalizing information about the war in Ukraine: At least 60 cases were initiated as of 7 March
Human rights activist Pavel Chikov – about the beginning of the application of the article on “discrediting the actions of the Russian army” because of rallies against “special operation.“
Russia began to apply a new article of the Code of Administrative Offences – 20.3.3, which entered into force only on March 4 this year. Code of Administrative Offenses (“Public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in order to protect the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens, maintain international peace and security”). This was reported to Novaya Gazeta by the head of the international human rights group Agora Pavel Chikov. Cases, according to him, began to start after yesterday’s protests. The maximum amount of fine for individuals provided for in the new article is 100,000 rubles, for officials – 300,000 rubles, for legal entities – a million rubles.
Full article in Russian and English here
Testimonies of female detained protesters/List of over 5000 detainees
What the girls who found themselves in the Department of Internal Affairs “Brateevo” heard and experienced on the eve of March 8, Women’s Day.
On Sunday, March 6, actions against what cannot be called were held in 65 cities of Russia (under the threat of criminal prosecution of journalists and media closure). According to OVD-Info*, more than 5,000 people have been detained throughout the country (according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs – more than 3,300). The day before, 26-year-old Muscovite Alexandra Kaluzhskikh allowed to publish an audio recording of what was happening in the Brateevo Ministry of Internal Affairs. However, this is not an isolated case of pressure on protesters and passers-by accidentally hit by paddy wagon. “Novaya” talked to the girls detained at the protests.
See lists of detained demonstrators here
Full article in Russian and English here
Censorship: The Prosecutor General’s Office demanded that Meta (ex-Facebook Inc.) be recognized as an “extremist organization.”
The agency demanded that the spokesman for Meta Platforms Inc. Andy Stone to say that “in the light of events in Ukraine,” the company will temporarily stop blocking aggressive statements against the Russian military. Later, Meta Vice President Nick Clegg further explained that negative statements about the Russian army will be allowed only by Ukrainians to allow them to “pour out anger”, and the platform itself will not tolerate Russophobia as a phenomenon.
Roskomnadzor has already decided to block Instagram.
Full article in Russian and English here
Dissident from the 6th “A”
At the history lesson, a Moscow schoolboy expressed his position on the “special operation”. After that, the police came to his house and cut off the electricity
Kirill (we do not specify his last name at the request of his mother) is 12 years old, he studies in the 6th grade of the Moscow school (the number is in the editorial office). His mother Natalia says that the boy has Ukrainian roots, he visited the Ukrainian Cultural Center. What is now happening between Russia and Ukraine hurts him.
Full article in Russian and English here
Resistance: A teacher who refused to conduct a “propaganda lesson” was fired in Moscow
On 8 March, a 28-year-old geography teacher at school No. 498 published a post on his personal Instagram page. He was suspended from work and will certainly be dismissed. This was his post:
“You have to live in such a way that your conscience does not torment you. Recently, at school I was told: “You can’t have any position but the official, state one.” So, I have my own opinion! And not only me, many teachers have their own opinion. And you know what? It clearly does not coincide with the opinion of the state. I don’t want to be a mirror of state propaganda, I’m proud that I’m not afraid to write about it now, I’m proud to be a teacher! My conscience doesn’t torment me. I love absolutely every student I have had, is and will be.”
Full article in Russian and English here
Photo credits: Novaya Gazeta