A magistrate court in Russia's Amur Region has fined a teacher from the settlement of Magdagachi 7,500 rubles for insulting a colleague in the school's staff chat, regional news outlet AmurLife reported.
In June, the teacher posted the colleague's phone number in the group chat along with a vulgar term implying she offered sexual services, according to the outlet. He attached a photograph of the woman to the message but deleted it shortly afterward.
Teacher's defense in court
At the hearing, the man denied wrongdoing. He told the judge the messages were meant for an acquaintance and had been sent to the teachers' chat by mistake because poor eyesight caused him to confuse the two conversations. He also said he had gotten the phone number from strangers at a cafe and did not know who it belonged to.
The colleague testified in response that the man had called her phone several times in the past, meaning he already knew the number was hers, which undercut his account.
Judge's ruling
The judge found the man's explanation unconvincing and ruled that his messages were insulting, imposing an administrative fine of 7,500 rubles.
Background
Magdagachi is a settlement in the Amur Region, a large territory in Russia's Far East bordering China. Under Russian law, insulting another person in a way that demeans their honor and dignity is handled as an administrative offense rather than a criminal one, typically resulting in a fine.
Similar earlier case
A Russian court previously fined a woman 3,000 rubles for calling someone "a fool" during an online dispute. That argument began in a chat used to give away free items, after an administrator blocked one of the participants for what she considered pushy behavior. The blocked woman then messaged the administrator privately to complain, accusing her of being illiterate.
