Moscow’s Khamovnichesky District Court fined Andrei Fefelov, the chairman of the Russian Trade Union of Automobile and Agricultural Machinery Workers, 30,000 rubles under a protocol alleging participation in the activities of an “undesirable” organization. This was reported by a Mediazona correspondent from the courtroom.
As the outlet noted, the man who was fined turned out to be the full namesake of Den-TV editor-in-chief Andrei Fefelov, the son of writer and Zavtra editor-in-chief Alexander Prokhanov. Earlier, Mediazona had assumed the protocol might have been drawn up against the journalist, but he declined to answer any questions.
The administrative case stemmed from a mention on the union’s website of the German Friedrich Ebert Foundation. In 2024, the organization was added to Russia’s list of “undesirable” organizations.
Fefelov was prosecuted in his capacity as an official. In court, he did not admit guilt. His lawyer argued that the wording in the union website’s “Areas of Work” section was merely a description of a program rather than evidence of any real actions.
According to the defense, the union had only referred to possible plans for international cooperation.
After the protocol was drawn up, the reference to the foundation was removed from the website. The lawyer asked the court to dismiss the case, citing the insignificance of the alleged offense.