Court sets precedent by ordering website to register as a media outlet

In an unprecedented ruling, the municipal court of Abakan ordered the website New Focus to register as a media outlet in order to resume its operation. Observers fear that this precedent might be used by other courts to justify closure of other network resources, even though such registration is still voluntary. Justice Svetlana Shapovalova handed down this ruling despite a date error exposed in the investigation materials, as a result of which the case had to be dismissed under the statute of limitations. The lawyer of New Focus chief editor Mikhail Afanasyev said she would appeal the ruling with the Supreme Court of the Republic of Khakassia.