St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly deputy Olga Shtannikova was fined for reposting an old photo of Navalny.
Olga Shtannikova, a representative in the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly, received a fine of 1,500 rubles for sharing a picture of Navalny.
Because of this, she will be ineligible to participate in the upcoming elections.
As per a dispatch from an Ostorozhno Novosti journalist present at the Kalininsky Court in St. Petersburg, Shtannikova was judged culpable of exhibiting extremist insignia (Section 1, Article 20.3 of the Russian Administrative Code) and sanctioned with a monetary penalty of 1,500 rubles. The head of the Yabloko faction also went to the session to back Shtannikova; she did not appear in the courtroom. The basis for the case was a 2013 VKontakte post by Shtannikova that showed a photo of Alexei Navalny. Once the verdict is in effect, Shtannikova will be prohibited from seeking reelection for twelve months.
According to the legal representative, the issue involves a reshare from Ekho Moskvy pertaining to the politician's inquiry into irregularities in government procurement. The defense stated that Yabloko had removed Navalny from its ranks, implying that it is illogical for the party’s lawmakers to publish his images and advocate for his ideas. Also, confirmation of Shtannikova’s control over the account is absent: the authorities did not conduct the necessary investigations, and the report designates the individual who made the post as an “unidentified female.” Additionally, the attorney suggested that Navalny’s images should have been taken down from various online platforms, but they persist, even on government-controlled news outlets.
