During the trial, the prosecution requested six years in a penal colony for Khabarovsk journalist Sergey Mingazov, who is accused of spreading fakes 'motivated by political hatred', reported 'NotMoscow'*. He is charged with three reposts in Telegram channels from 2022—all of them concerned the tragedy in Bucha. The prosecutor insists that the information in these texts does not correspond to the position of the Russian Ministry of Defense, may cause 'fear and anxiety' among readers, and 'discredits the authorities'.
The prosecutors in Mingazov's case changed several times. During the investigation, they supported their arguments with testimonies from a military officer, an FSB officer, and a linguist, who called the publications about the events in Bucha a Ukrainian 'provocation'.
In addition to the posts in the channel, the prosecution examined Mingazov's Instagram** and found in it a 'negative, hostile attitude towards the president and his entourage', publications in support of the murdered Alexei Navalny*** and the convicted former governor of the Khabarovsk Territory, Sergey Furgal.
Mingazov's lawyer, Konstantin Bubon, noted that 'mere references and quotes from reposts are not enough to make a decision', the investigation did not study the publications themselves, but presented them without context. Meanwhile, they included links to the official position of the Russian Ministry of Defense. The fact that the publications 'may cause anxiety' among Russian citizens, the defender called nothing more than an assumption, on which the accusation cannot be based.
Sergey Mingazov writes for Forbes and 'Amur Boulevard', and also runs several Telegram channels where he publishes regional news. Previously, he collaborated with 'Vedomosti', 'Kommersant', and TASS.
* Recognized as a 'foreign agent' in Russia.
** Owned by Meta, recognized as 'extremist' in the Russian Federation.
*** Included in the list of 'extremists and terrorists'.