Tomsk-based journalist Alexey Shitik was charged with spreading disinformation about the Russian Armed Forces (Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code). Shitik said that on August 1 Federal Security Service officers searched his parents’ house and confiscated their cell phones. Official documents reveal that the charges against Shitik are based on allegations he spread false information about the financing of the Russian army, civilian casualties in Ukraine and the crimes in Bucha, through social media posts. Shitik left Russia in 2018 as a result of anonymous threats made to him and pressure from the local authorities and has no plans to return to the country. He faces up to three years in prison if brought to Russia and tried under the amended criminal code.
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