The Basmanny Court of Moscow authorized the arrest in absentia of blogger Maxim Katz (recognized in the Russian Federation as an individual-foreign agent), accused of public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. It is reported by RBC.
“The court granted the petition of the investigation to select a measure of restraint in respect of Kats Maksim Evgenievich in the form of detention in absentia. The term of custody is calculated in the form of two months from the moment of his detention on the territory of the Russian Federation or extradition, ”said Ekaterina Buravtsova, press secretary of the court.
Katz was charged under Part 2 of Art. 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (Public dissemination under the guise of reliable messages of knowingly false information containing data on the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, committed for reasons of political, ideological, national hatred or enmity, or for reasons of hatred against any social group). The sanctions of the article provide for punishment in the form of either a fine in the amount of 3 to 5 million rubles, or forced labor for up to five years, or imprisonment for a period of 5 to 10 years.
The criminal case was initiated on April 7, 2022. The investigation period has now been extended until April 7, 2023. In October last year, the blogger was put on the wanted list in Russia, and on March 9 of this year, the investigation put Katz on the international wanted list.
In July, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation included the blogger in the register of individuals – foreign agents.
Katz is also a former member of the municipal assembly of the Moscow district of Shchukino.
Source: Rosbalt
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