A court in Primorye issued a first ruling in a case involving the spread of unreliable information about the supposed introduction of an Amur tiger into a village. This development is reported by DEA News, with reference to the Amur Tiger Center.
In February, the Ministry of Internal Affairs noted that a local resident informed police about a possible tiger sighting near the village of Yakovlevka. The individual presented a photograph claimed to be from an eyewitness. Police, however, did not locate a hunter or any physical traces at the scene.
During the investigation, authorities learned that a 30 year old resident of Yakovlevka had found the photograph online and shared it widely.
The matter then moved to the courtroom. The case was brought under Article 13.15 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, concerning the deliberate dissemination of unreliable information that could threaten public order in the media and on the Internet and the documents presented to the court.
The accused received a fine of 50,000 rubles and his mobile phone was confiscated as part of the penalties.