A criminal case has been opened against blogger Varlamov

A criminal case was initiated against blogger Ilya Varlamov (recognized in Russia as a foreign agent) for evasion of his duties as a foreign agent. This was reported on November 25 by the press service of the Moscow Prosecutor's Office.

The case was initiated under Part 2 of Article 330.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Evasion of duties provided by the legislation of the Russian Federation on foreign agents") after an inspection of the prosecutor's office. The blogger could face up to two years in prison, adds "Gazeta.Ru".

"The investigation is under control in the Prosecutor's office," - stated in the Telegram-channel of the department.

It is established that during the year 40-year-old Varlamov was twice brought to administrative responsibility under part 4 of article 19.34 of the CAO RF ("Violation of the order of the activities of a foreign agent"), but the fines did not pay. On the contrary, the defendant continued to distribute materials in social networks without indicating that they were created by "an individual performing the functions of a foreign agent". It is known that Varlamov now lives abroad.

Earlier, on September 11, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation received a complaint from Varlamov demanding that he be removed from the list of foreign agents. The date of its consideration has not been set yet. The Russian Ministry of Justice recognized Varlamov as a foreign agent on March 23, 2023. According to the agency's version, the blogger disseminated publications of other media and persons recognized as foreign agents.

On May 15, 2023, Varlamov and artist Semyon Slepakov (recognized as a foreign agent in Russia), as well as artist Maxim Galkin (recognized as a foreign agent in Russia) filed lawsuits against the Ministry of Justice to have their foreign agent status removed, but they were not satisfied. Later, on August 14, the Second Cassation Court of General Jurisdiction in Moscow again refused to remove Varlamov's foreign agent status.

On June 28, the Tverskoy District Court fined Varlamov 50 thousand rubles for discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.