05:04, 13 February 2026

A resident of North Ossetia is suspected of discrediting the army.

Investigators in North Ossetia have opened a criminal case against a Vladikavkaz resident for social media comments they deemed fake about the Russian army.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code was introduced on March 4, 2022, after the start of the Russian operation in Ukraine. This article of the Russian Criminal Code contradicts the Constitution of Russia, as well as basic principles of law, the Memorial Human Rights Center stated.** "The wording of the article does not allow us to determine in advance which statements are lawful and which are prohibited. A citizen cannot know in advance which statements or information may be considered false in this context," the human rights activists emphasized.

Dozhd* journalist Valeria Kichigina has been accused of spreading fake news about the army. One of the publications she is accused of publishing concerns events in Bucha, while the other concerns the presence of Russian troops in South Ossetia after the 2008 Five-Day War. This is the first case of the article on fakes being applied for statements unrelated to the North Ossetian Armed Forces, and it demonstrates the expansion of the article's scope to other conflicts involving Russian military personnel.

According to investigators, in May and June 2025, the suspect posted publicly accessible text comments on a social network containing knowingly false information about the Russian army, the Investigative Committee of North Ossetia reported on its VKontakte page.

Investigators have opened a criminal case. The man is suspected of committing a crime under Part 1 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation) .

A psychological and linguistic examination has been ordered, interrogations are being conducted, and character references on the suspect are being reviewed. It is noted that the criminal case was opened based on materials provided by employees of the FSB Border Directorate for North Ossetia, the agency said in a statement.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that a court in Vladikavkaz sentenced local resident Kazbek Alikov to a year of probation; he was found guilty of spreading fake news about the Russian army after comments on social media.

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*** Meta (which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) is banned in Russia.

Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/420754