04:55, 2 April 2026

A Stavropol resident has been arrested in connection with a fake army case.

A court has remanded a Stavropol Krai resident in pretrial detention, accused of spreading false information about the Russian armed forces due to comments he made on a messenger app.

Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code was introduced on March 4, 2022, after the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine. Human rights activists have pointed out that this article of the Russian Criminal Code contradicts the Constitution of Russia, as well as fundamental principles of law. "The wording of the article does not allow for a determination in advance of 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.

The prosecution of the 30-year-old resident of the Predgorny District in Stavropol Krai was based on comments he left in February 2025 "in one of the instant messengers." Investigators found in them "deliberately false information about the actions of the Russian Armed Forces."

The prosecution believes the man's comments were motivated by feelings of "political, ideological, and national hatred and enmity." This charge (clause "d" of Part 2 of Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code) carries a sentence of up to five years of forced labor or five to ten years in prison.

“The defendant has been detained. At the request of a Russian Investigative Committee investigator, the court has ordered his pretrial detention,” the regional Investigative Committee reported. The agency added that “investigative and other procedural actions” are still ongoing in the case.

The defendant’s face is obscured in the short video recording by security forces. In the investigator’s office, the man is told he is under arrest, after which he is handcuffed. The official statement does not specify what specific military actions were discussed in the comments.

The prosecution believes that the arrested man published his comments while in Lermontov, Kommersant reports, citing the regional FSB.

The public file on the website of the Predgorny Court of Stavropol does not contain a single criminal case file relating to the article on fake news about the army. The court's website also lacks a file of detention orders, and decisions on administrative cases related to "discrediting the army" (Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation) have not been published since June 2024.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that at the end of 2025, a court in Cherkessk sentenced lawyer and activist Ramazan Mkhtse in absentia to eight years in prison, finding him guilty of disseminating false information about the Russian military motivated by political hatred.

Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/422107