Criminal cases opened against 3 Russians over fake info about Russian Armed Forces - Investigative Committee

MOSCOW. March 17 (Interfax) - The Russian Investigative Committee has opened criminal cases against three citizens of Russia for spreading knowingly false information about operations of the Russian Armed Forces on social media, the Committee said in a statement on its website on Wednesday.

"The Main Investigative Committee of the Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case against Veronika Belotserkovskaya. Her actions constituted formal elements of a crime defined by Part 2 Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code (public dissemination of knowingly false information about operations of the Russian Armed Forces under the guise of true reports for reasons of political hate or enmity)," the statement said.

According to the investigators, Belotserkovskaya published a number of posts on Instagram in March 2022 "to present as true reports the knowingly false information about the Russian Armed Forces being used to destroy cities and the civilian population, including children, in Ukraine, in the course of the special military operation in the territory of this country."

"Her posts discredited the authorities and the Russian Armed Forces," the Committee said.

As Belotserkovskaya is staying outside of the Russian Federation, "a decision to put her on the international wanted list is under consideration," it said.

Meanwhile, similar criminal cases have been opened against a resident of the Seversk restricted urban area and a resident of Tomsk on the basis of materials from the Tomsk regional department of the Federal Security Service, the Committee said.

"According to the investigators, the suspects published on a social network and a messenger knowingly false information about casualties and conduct of Russian troops in the Ukrainian territory during the special military operation and the operation results, which they presented as true reports," it said.

"They allegedly received the information from eyewitnesses on the ground," the Committee said.

"A court imposed restrictions on the suspects at the request of an investigator. The homes of the suspects were searched, witnesses were interviewed, and other investigative procedures were undertaken," it said.