Nizhny Novgorod former high school students are asked to soften the sentence in the case of fake news about the RF Armed Forces.

      July 11, 2025, 13:13

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      Incidents In the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Court, the appeals process in the case of two former students of Lyceum No. 82 has begun, reports "Ъ-Privolzhye."

      In spring 2025, the Sormovsky District Court sentenced them to two and a half years in prison for spreading false information about the Russian Armed Forces. The basis for the criminal case was a video posted online criticizing the actions of the Russian army. The teenagers uploaded the video to their personal Telegram channel in the fall of 2023. Unknown individuals sent a link to the video to Lyceum No. 82's email. After that, as claimed, the school principal, Nina Govorova, filed a police report. At the time, the accused were 17 years old and received administrative fines of 30,000 rubles each.

      Later, when the young men turned 18, a criminal case was initiated against them under Part 2 of Article 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation — for the public dissemination of knowingly false information about the actions of the RF Armed Forces. A linguistic examination determined that the content of the video met the signs of a criminal offense.

      According to the defense, the teenagers' motives were not malicious. Allegedly, they filmed the video spontaneously and only shared it with friends. The attorneys argue that the video was not intended for a broad audience, did not contain monetization, and did not include images of third parties.

      In April 2025, the court sentenced both to two and a half years in a general regime colony. Although the statute they were charged under prescribed a punishment of five to ten years, the court imposed the minimum term. Nevertheless, the defense considered the sentence excessively harsh.

      During the appeal hearing, lawyer Demid Medvedev pointed out that one of the convicted immediately after arrest signed a confession. He emphasized that his client was remorseful, apologized to teachers and classmates, had already been fined, and voluntarily donated money to the fund aiding disabled persons and veterans of combat actions, "We Don’t Abandon Our Own."

      Lawyer Ruslan Sazonov for the second young man also stated that his client admitted guilt, was remorseful, and signed a confession. He noted that the video was shot spontaneously, and the Lyceum graduate had received positive character references and, in the opinion of the defense, deserves a lighter sentence — a fine or probation.

      The state prosecutor, Nadezhda Limonova, requested the verdict be upheld. She insisted that the key factor was the act of publishing online itself, not the number of views. Limonova also petitioned for the video with signs of a crime to be presented. The video demonstration was postponed because the necessary equipment was not available in the courtroom. Judge Irina Mityagina adjourned the hearing.

      It is expected that next week, the regional court will hear the parties’ closing arguments. After that, a decision will be made on the appeal.

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