The court in Kabardino-Balkaria refused to consider the case on discrediting the army.

The Nalchik City Court returned the case on discrediting the army to the law enforcement agencies due to violations, which they initiated against local resident Pavel Ulimbegov.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on March 4, 2022, responsibility for discrediting the armed forces was introduced. After that, residents of Russia, including Kabardino-Balkaria, began to face prosecution under the relevant article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. It provides for fines for citizens from 30,000 to 100,000 rubles, and repeated violations within a year threaten criminal prosecution.

According to the case materials, law enforcement officers in Nalchik drew up a protocol on discrediting the army against local resident Pavel Ulimbegov and sent the materials to court. However, the judge refused to consider the case and returned it to the law enforcement agencies.

"To eliminate the identified deficiencies and violations <…> the protocol and other materials attached to it must be returned, as the improper execution of the case materials, and accordingly its incompleteness, cannot be remedied during consideration," the case card published on the court's website states.

The case materials do not provide information on the reasons why law enforcement officers drew up a protocol against Ulimbegov.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that earlier the court in Nalchik fined local resident Shahin Shikhmuradov, acknowledging that the video he published in a messenger discredited the army.