On 18 October 2023, courts in Moscow registered cases against journalists Ruslan Leviev, Olesya Shmagun and Daniil Sotnikov, who were accused of not supplying authorities with regular financial and activity reports, reported Russian independent media outlet MediaZona. Leviev, Shmagun and Sotnikov are designated as “foreign agents” in Russia and are legally required to submit such reports several times a year. If found guilty, the three journalists each face a fine of up to 50 thousand rubles.
Leviev is the founder of Conflict Intelligence Team, an independent open-source investigative outlet. Shmagun is an investigative journalist and co-founder of iStories, an Russian independent media outlet and part of the OCCRP network. Sotnikov is an independent journalist previously working with independent channel TV Rain and investigative outlet Proekt.
Initially adopted in 2012, Russia’s law on foreign agents has been revised several times over the past decade to include an ever-wider range of potential targets for state-sponsored discrimination. Currently, any organization, media or private individual can be designated as such simply by being declared to be “under foreign influence” by the Russian Ministry of Justice or because of receiving funds of any amount from abroad (or from an entity itself receiving foreign funds). “Foreign agents” are also barred from receiving state financing, teaching at state universities, working with minors and providing expertise on environmental issues, among other restrictions.
UPDATE: On 2 November 2023, the Tushinsky district court in Moscow fined Olesya Shmagun 40 thousand rubles on charges of violating article 19.34.2 of Russia’s Code of Administrative Offences, related to the obligations of persons designated by the government as “foreign agents”.