On 31 August 2023, Russian independent media reported that journalist Denis Kapustinsky had been fined 30 thousand rubles for alleged “discreditation” of the Russian army. According to Sever.Realii, the regional service for northwestern Russia of Prague-based media outlet RFE/RL, Kapustinsky was fined for pronouncing the phrase “Russia is bombing civilians” in a video uploaded to Youtube. Kapustinsky works for Pskovskaya Gubernia, an independent regional outlet reporting on news in the city of Pskov, in northwestern Russia.
Following the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, security forces raided the newsroom of Pskovskaya Gubernia, confiscating all of the outlet’s electronic devices. Soon after, Pskovskaya Gubernia’s journalists left Russia and continued their work from abroad. In October 2022, the outlet’s editor, Denis Kamalyagin, was fined 35 thousand rubles for allegedly “discrediting” the Russian army.
UPDATE: On October 16, Sever.Realii reported that the case against Kapustinsky was terminated by a court in Pskov as the limitation period for the offence had been exceeded. However, the publication also claimed that the local police force was already preparing a new case against the journalist, which could lead to him to being fined on the same grounds.