Crimean Tatar human rights activist fined for “abuse of freedom of speech”

A court in Simferopol fined Crimean Tatar human rights activist and journalist Lutfiye Zudieva 2,500 rubles under the article on abuse of freedom of speech. Due to traffic jams, she was several minutes late for the hearing and warned the judge about this through her defense lawyer. However, the judge considered this disrespectful and heard the case in eight minutes.

Previously, the Internal Affairs Center drew up a report against Zudiyeva for “distributing information about foreign agents in the media without indicating their status.” On her Facebook page, Lutfiye Zudieva posted a publication containing information about Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) without indicating that it was included in the register of foreign agents.

The human rights activist stated that only the editorial board or founder of the media, as well as the editor-in-chief or other official can be held administratively liable in this regard. She believes that she is not the subject of an offense and, as an individual, was not obliged to comply with the requirements.