MCC upholds arrest in absentia of Stavropol citizen for fakes about Russian Army

The Moscow City Court (MCC) has upheld the arrest in absentia of Denis Mamedov, who, together with his wife Maria, was put on the wanted list in the case of fakes about the Russian Army. The reason for the departure of the married couple from Stavropol outside Russia was in the pressure on Maria due to her refusal to organize help collecting for participants in the special military operation (SMO) in Ukraine.

The ruling to arrest in absentia the above native of the Stavropol Territory, accused under the article on spreading "fake news" about the Russian Army, was left in force, the human rights project "OVD-Info"* has informed.

The court sentenced Denis Mamedov, who together with his wife sent out anti-war appeals to government bodies, to custody for two months.

As the "Mediazona"* has reported, after the mobilization began, Maria, who worked as a human resources specialist at the regional forensic centre of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), was asked to organize a fundraiser for Russian militaries. She refused to do this and stated that she did not support the SMO in Ukraine. The woman began feeling pressured at work; and in October 2022, she and her husband decided to leave Russia. After leaving, the couple posted pacifist materials in their social networks, and also sent more than 35 complaints to the General Prosecutor's Office (GPO) and other government bodies demanding an end to the SMO in Ukraine and bringing to justice those responsible for war crimes.

Maria said that in response to their complaints, officials replied that the Mamedovs themselves could be prosecuted for the rehabilitation of Nazism, extremism and "discrediting" the Russian Army.

*Included by the Russian Ministry of Justice (MoJ) into the register of foreign agents.