A group of prominent Russian lawyers has petitioned the country’s highest court to declare a law that prohibits criticism of the armed forces unconstitutional. This is a rare show of opposition to the Kremlin’s censorship, which has become more severe since the invasion of Ukraine. The complaint, filed by three lawyers and supported by ten others, most of whom are still in Russia, asks the Constitutional Court to strike down the measure, which has become the Kremlin’s most effective tool for suppressing dissent in the country.
Violetta Fitsner, a lawyer with OVD-Info, a Russian rights group, and one of the authors of the complaint, said, “This law was passed with only one goal – to suppress antiwar activism. Such restrictions cannot exist in a democratic society.”
The censorship laws effectively ban anything that does not correspond to the Kremlin’s depiction of the war, which it continues to call a “special military operation.” They have virtually silenced debate in…
2023-04-25 20:27:13
Link from www.nytimes.com