Journalist and director of Vechernyie vedomosti news portal, Guzel Aitkulova, reported that she was summoned to the police to answer accusations of disseminating false information about the Russian army. Aitkulova rejected the claim that the news platform, which is based in the city of Yekaterinburg near the Ural Mountains, had published any material discrediting the Russian army. She was summoned on April 27 to draw up a protocol against her, as editor of the publication. The charge stemmed from an article publish on April 8. According to reports, the journalist faced a potential fine of between 300 and 500 thousand rubles under Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. The publication had not received any notifications from Roskomnadzor or other government departments regarding prohibited materials on the site. “I think this is another way to try to silence one of the last unblocked Russian independent media,” Aitkulova said. “We will continue to work for our readers, and we will do this as long as there is any opportunity to tell the truth.” She added: “For our part, we want to express support for the Ural publication and remind once again that we consider any censorship, be it military or “civilian”, unacceptable, as well as pressure on the media in general. We will follow the events around Vecherniye Vedomosti and report them on our website and social networks.
Russia-Ukraine WarCensorship and regulationPublication ban, take-down order or forced deletion, fine, administrative action