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Investigative Committee outraged by publication of footage of school attack near Moscow

According to Armen Gasparyan, if the media does not adhere to the request of the Human Rights Council, the state should punish them

MOSCOW, December 16. /TASS/. The media outlets that published footage of the stabbing that occurred at a school near Moscow must be held legally responsible, said Armen Gasparyan, a member of the commission of the Civic Chamber on the development of the information community, mass media and mass communications.

He was outraged by the publication of footage of the grieving mother as he called for observing common decency. According to him, if the media does not adhere to the request of the Human Rights Council, the state should punish them.

"Why doesn't Roskomnadzor [mass media and telecom watchdog] block [the media] for violating law? Law must be respected. If the media for some reason do not know what is contained in the law of the Russian Federation 'On Mass Media,' then this ignorance does not absolve them from responsibility," Gasparyan said as quoted on the Civic Chamber's Telegram channel.

"When bloggers on the Internet shirk the law by posting illegal videos - they don't flash, they don't have the obligatory 18+ label and the accompanying text, that these are shots of a committed crime - this is half the battle. But since the media suddenly started doing exactly the same thing, questions arise," Gasparyan said.

A teenager armed with a knife and pepper spray attacked a school in the village of Gorki-2 in the Odintsovo city district in the Moscow Region. He killed a fourth-grade student and wounded a security guard.

The attacker was detained. He was identified as a 15-year-old student of the school, who filmed the crime on his phone and posted the video online. Telegram channels published the footage. The Human Rights Council demanded that the video not be shared. Article 4 of the Law on Mass Media prohibits the dissemination of materials in the media that promote violence and brutality.

According to information on the school's official website, more than 1,000 children are enrolled there.

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