Olga Lee
Olga Lee, born 1986, Kursk Oblast. Charges: Article 282 (part unknown), Russian Criminal Code (Incitement of hatred or enmity); Article 298.1 (part unknown), Russian Criminal Code (Slander against a judge, juror, prosecutor, investigator, person conducting an inquiry, employee of…); “The Olga Lee case”. Sentence (June 25, 2017): a fine in the amount of ninety thousand roubles. Status: at large.
In brief
Kursk Oblast · Kursk · Journalists · Extremism cases
Sentence
a fine in the amount of ninety thousand roubles
Upheld September 6, 2017
Charges
- Article 282 (part unknown), Russian Criminal Code — Incitement of hatred or enmity
- Article 298.1 (part unknown), Russian Criminal Code — Slander against a judge, juror, prosecutor, investigator, person conducting an inquiry, employee of the enforcement agencies of the Russian Federation
Full wording of the charges
In the September-October 2015 issue of the newspaper Narodnyj Journalist, she published an article entitled "Application to bring regional prosecutor Filimonov to criminal responsibility, where she disseminated knowingly false information defaming the honour, dignity and undermining the professional reputation of a judge of the Leninsky District Court of Kursk, accusing him of making a knowingly unjust decision on a case of administrative offence; the information disseminated is aimed at inciting hatred and enmity towards the activities of all officials of the regional prosecutor's office.
Latest event
September 6, 2017 — appeal
The court upheld the verdict.
Timeline
· Appeal ruling
upheld
· First-instance verdict
guilty verdict
· Persecution ends
· Preventive measure: travel ban (written undertaking)
· Persecution begins
The Olga Lee case
Criminal case
The Olga Lee case
Details and sources
Full summary
On 25 March 2016, a case of defamation of a judge was reported to have been opened against Olga Lee in connection with the judge’s consideration of court cases or materials. This came two weeks after Lee had posted a video on YouTube, in which she stated that Putin's foreign and domestic policies had led to the collapse of Russia's financial system and suppression of the rule of law. Lee also accused Putin of a "criminal conspiracy against his own people" and "propaganda of violence" that filled state TV channels. At a meeting of Kursk Oblast Duma deputies, she was told that because of her appeals to the Russian president, a criminal case had been opened against her, accusing her of slander and extremism. Deputies for United Russia, CPRF and LDPR openly expressed their dissatisfaction with her. Most of all, she was criticised for not supporting the annexation of Crimea to Russia and insulting Putin. On 1 April, Lee was reported to have also been charged with incitement of hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity on the grounds of belonging to a social group of representatives of the authorities, in particular, employees of law enforcement agencies and the judiciary. The cases were merged into a single proceeding. Later, the local Centre for Combating Extremism found no signs of extremism in her video. In October 2016, the charges under the article on inciting hatred were dropped. On 26 June 2017, she was sentenced to a fine of 90 thousand rubles in a libel case.
All fields of the record
- Citizenship
- Russia
Other people prosecuted under Article 282 (part unknown), Russian Criminal Code
Under the same article, not necessarily in the same case.