The state prosecution requested 10 years in a penal colony for blogger and politician Maxim Katz in the case of spreading “fake news” about the Russian army motivated by political hatred (paragraph “e” of part 2 of article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). It is reported by “Mediazona”.
The prosecutor also asked that Katz be banned from administering the sites for five years.
His case is being considered in the Basmanny District Court of Moscow.
The reason for initiating a case against Katz, as specified in the Prosecutor General’s Office, was a video posted on his YouTube channel on April 3, 2022, “in which he allegedly” disseminated, under the guise of reliable messages, deliberately false information containing data on the use of the RF Armed Forces to destroy the population settlements and the civilian population” in Ukraine.
At the end of March 2023, the Basmanny District Court of Moscow arrested the politician in absentia for two months. In early March, he was put on the international wanted list.
The criminal case against Katz was opened on April 7, 2022. Initially, he was charged with Part 1 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code, but on February 20, 2023, the politician was charged in absentia with spreading “fakes” about the Russian army based on political hatred or enmity.
Katz is currently in Israel. In July 2022, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation recognized him as a “foreign agent”, whose activities are financed from Ukraine. In October 2022, Katz was entered into the Peacemaker base as a threat to the security of Ukraine.
Maxim Katz talks on YouTube about the war in Ukraine. His channel has 1.7 million subscribers and his videos have over 586 million views.
