The Constitutional Court of Russia refused to accept for consideration the complaint of political prisoner Alexey Gorinov, who challenged the criminal article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation on «fakes about the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation», as well as parts of Federal Law No. 131-FZ «On the General Principles of Local Self-Government Organization», reports «Memorial»**.
According to lawyers and human rights activists, these norms seriously restrict the right to free expression of opinions and are used as a tool to suppress dissent.
The complaint was filed by lawyers Katerina Tertukhina and Olga Podoplelova in April 2025. They argued that article 207.3 of the Criminal Code, under the guise of combating «disinformation», effectively criminalizes statements about the activities of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and state bodies, and the norms of the law on local self-government should protect the right of municipal deputies to free expression of opinions, but in fact leave them defenseless against criminal prosecution for words. Thus, the guarantees of local self-government provided by the Constitution are nullified.
The Constitutional Court, having studied the case materials, found the complaint not subject to consideration. The ruling states that the rights and freedoms of individuals guaranteed by the Constitution should not be used to «deny the constitutional order of the Russian Federation». At the same time, the Constitutional Court noted that expressing one's opinion and pointing out the shortcomings of the Armed Forces' activities is possible if it is not accompanied by «deliberate dissemination of knowingly false information».
Moreover, the court recognized that Gorinov abused his deputy status by criticizing the «Special Military Operation» at a meeting, and therefore parliamentary immunity does not apply to him.
The ruling of the Constitutional Court is final and not subject to appeal.
Alexey Gorinov received his first sentence under the article on military «fakes» back in the summer of 2022. According to the investigation, at a meeting of municipal deputies, he discredited the Russian army by saying that holding a children's drawing contest cannot be considered while children are dying in the war.
* Included in the list of «terrorists and extremists».
** Recognized in Russia as a «foreign agent».